Stuck In The Middle With You
by Rachel Balsdon
Summary: Mello is the school 'mafia princess', Near's always been homeschooled. Matt's just caught in the middle when the sparks begin to fly. Rated M for a reason you've been warned. Fem Mello and Near. Mello X Matt X Near   complete
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to a new story, this story was written by me and my friend who's fanfiction name is Chocolate-sugercube. so if you like this please go cheack out her stuff too. Also beta'd by Chocolate-sugercube.

Disclaimer: We do not own Death Note or any of it's characters. (but we wish we did )

Summary: "_Mello is the school 'mafia princess', Near's always been homeschooled. Matt's just caught in the middle when the sparks begin to fly. Rated T but may go up to M. Fem Mello and Near. Mello X Matt X Near"_

**Read, Enjoy, and Please Review.**

**_Stuck In The Middle With You_**

Chapter 1

Matt stretched out in bed yawning softly, giving a hum of satisfaction when his back clicked just right. Okay, so maybe he shouldn't have stayed up all night playing online but hell, it had been worth it. He sat up, pulling on his shirt and goggles, examining himself in the mirror. He didn't look to bad- if he did say so himself. After all, Matt wasn't the type to be egotistic.

The next things for him to figure out were: one, where the hell his boots were, and two, who would be so insistently ringing his doorbell before he'd even woken up? '_If I had parents they could just answer the door for me_.' He thought bitterly, glancing at the picture of his mother on his bedside table and wishing she were still here. Matt waded cautiously through the wreck that he called his room, kicking aside the handgun that he'd tossed aside earlier. Strolling down the hallway of his bungalow, he spotted his car keys but left them, as Mello hated his car, and who else would stand there for so long kicking and hammering at his poor, mostly-defenceless door? He grabbed his bag, and, shouldering it, threw open the front door, and found himself looking down at the glaring female. "Hey Mel, school time already huh?" he said, and gave her a winning smile, which was determinedly ignored.

Mello continued to glare, hissing at him, "We're going to be fucking late 'cause I've been here for half a fucking hour trying to get your fucking lazy ass to answer the door." Matt paled. Well damn, he didn't realise she'd been there for so long and knowing her dress sense, she'd probably attracted all sorts of attention. Her curves had certainly caught the eye of many a passerby. He peered eagerly down her low cut top, noticing with satisfaction that her skirt was even shorter than usual. Matt had to admit Mello was fucking hot, but she was… feisty, to say the least. Yet as her best friend, Matt had to love her unconditionally. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, awaiting her fury. "Sorry Mel, I had a late night. Capture the flag, you know?" He explained, hoping she'd understand, but knowing she wouldn't. From the way she continued to glare at him, his instincts had been right.  
"Do I really need to stay over yours every single fucking night to make you go to sleep on time? You're such a dick sometimes, and I told you I needed to be early today!"

It was clear that she wasn't going to calm anytime soon, and he accepted that as a fact. "Damn it, I'm sorry, alright? I forgot." He whined, shutting the door behind him, game console in hand. Mello reached up and ran her fingers through his untamed red hair, suddenly affectionate. Matt grinned, realising he hadn't had time to brush it. Mello smoothed it down and gave him a glowing smile. "You're such a fucking dork, you know that?"  
He nodded, happy to accept the teasing if it meant she'd calmed down. "Let's go, exam results are out today and I want to be there first."  
Matt smiled, and replied "I'm sorry, Mel, really. Can you forgive me?" Mello looked like she was pondering for a moment, then leant up to gently kiss him on the cheek, and held out her bag to him. "Only if Mattie carries my stuff," She said, pouting adorably. He took it from her immediately, and her pout turned into a victorious grin. She grabbed his free hand, and pulled him along as she began running, shouting back to him. "C'mon! Class will start soon!" Matt couldn't help but laugh and think Mello was crazy for wanting to get to school so quickly.

They reached the school grounds and Mello turned to him, startling him with an intense stare. "Don't forget since Caro was a dick and cheated on me, we're supposed to be dating, okay?" She said, and pulled him through the large gates and into the school grounds. "Don't worry, I didn't forget." She really didn't need to remind him; he accepted it as something he had to do as her best friend. He noticed her smile turn into a sensuous smirk and she backed him against a wall, mischief brightening her eyes. "I'll make it worth your while," she said, batting her eyelashes in a way that made even him get butterflies. Mello was a tease, and a temptress, and Matt loved every second he was in her gaze. "I know and you know I'd never deny you anyway, love." He muttered to her, both shameless towards their spectators. Matt was very used to Mello using him to get back at her boyfriends, and he loved all the perks that came with it, namely getting into Mello's pants.

Mello leant up and blew in his ear and to make him shudder, as she knew his weaknesses perfectly. "Now Mattie, kiss me like we've just got out of bed together." Matt rolled his eyes and grabbed her, pulling her further against him. His hand tangled into her soft blond locks as he kissed her viciously. The only thing on his mind was Mello, and the way she was being so damn sexual. '_Vixen,_' he thought, pretending that she was enjoying his attention. It was easier because she was moaning audibly into his mouth and bucking her hips into his roughly. "Mmh, Matt, please…" Disentangling herself, she flashed him a smile and he chuckled, holding her at arm's length.  
"Slow down, Mel - let's let you recover first, okay? After all, you gotta be sore from last night." Matt was well accustomed to playing along with Mello's crazy schemes. Mello let out a particularly feminine giggle. Matt knew it was a mirthless sound, one that would never pass her lips unaided. She leant up and said something loud enough for any passersby to hear. "After school meet me in the field, okay?"  
He chuckled, nodding. "You got it."

Mello grinned, kissing his cheek. "If you're really good, we won't even fake it." she whispered, so only he could hear, flicking her tongue down his jaw line. She then grabbed her bag and walked away off to her first class. Her hips swayed as she walked, making her retreat an extremely enjoyable sight. Matt stood, waiting for his heart to slow. There was an uncomfortable yearning in the pit of his stomach that he would have to ignore for now. He ran a hand through his hair before pulling his goggles over his eyes and walking of toward his own class. He was about halfway there when he caught the eye of someone familiar.

"Yo, Matt."

Matt sighed. This wasn't something he needed right now. "Hello, Caro" he said staring blankly at Mello's latest ex. He took in the curl of his hair, and the glint of dark eyes against dark skin. "This is totally not cool, man! I didn't cheat on her, you know I wouldn't."  
He looked at Matt pleadingly, but Matt stayed true to his best friend's story.  
"Well Mello said she caught you in bed with that other girl. Sorry dude, but I don't believe you." Matt said, walking off and giving Caro a casual flick of his hand in a goodbye gesture. He sighed when he heard Caro shout to him, "Seriously! Not cool, man!"

Matt knew rumour would already be spreading about himself, Mello and Caro. Matt could only grin and think that no one ever fucks with Mello- figuratively, of course. He entered the classroom and sat at his seat, getting out his Nintendo DS. '_High score will be mine again!_' He vowed, as he watched the game credits roll. Just as he'd begun to play he heard the door open and a girl entered the classroom, and sat in a chair not far from him. She set out a pen and notebook a little too precisely to be inconspicuous. She twirled her short hair round her fingers in a way that would look anxious if her eyes weren't quite so soulless. Matt was frozen at the sight of this girl. She was obviously new as he was sure he'd have noticed her before, she didn't exactly fit in, after all. She was pretty cute, though there was a strange lack of life about her. A rare moment occurred in which Matt actually lifted off his goggles to get a better look at her. As the rest of the class filed in, Matt lowered his goggles again. As the room took on its familiar orange tint, he returned to his game. The teacher entered and surveyed the class.  
"I see the new student arrived safely," she smiled, "Will you please stand and tell everyone your name, and something about yourself?" The teacher asked kindly.  
Matt casually looked up for a moment, curious about her. "I'd rather stay seated. My name is Near River, I've been home tutored until earlier this year but my parents recently became deceased and therefore can no longer supervise my education." She said tonelessly.  
The teacher nodded, with what Matt only described as a sad smile towards Near. Now bored of the situation, he went back to his game. "Well we are sorry to hear this dear, now wh-" The teacher stopped abruptly, having evidently spotted him gaming. "Mr Jeevas!" she called sternly, and Matt carelessly replied, turning the game off. "Yes?" he asked casually, the class all giggled, used to his attitude.

"Well Mr Jeevas, since you're so focused on those stupid games, I'll give you something useful to do. You can show Near around the school." Matt looked at the girl, and then shrugged. "Sure, sounds fun." He said and went back to his game. He happily ignored the teacher, who looked ready to blow a fuse._ 'Ah the joys of school and all its wonderfulness.' _He thought, grinning.  
Matt then heard Near's voice again. "Gaming actually increases a person's attention span, co-ordination and interpersonal relationship skills; therefore gaming is quite a useful habit."  
The sentence was gentle yet monotone again, as the girl continued to show blank disinterest. Matt couldn't help but grin even more at the new student, who only tilted her head in acknowledgment. Matt decided immediately he liked Near. She was smart and entertaining, if a little creepy. The teacher obviously had been stunned by the boldness of the new girl, and gaped at her for a few moments, before catching herself, and starting the lesson.

Matt finished his game with a smug grin as he got the high score he'd wanted, and threw it into his bag. He looked around at everyone taking notes, except the new girl who was sat twirling her hair subconsciously around her finger. She was definitely likable, despite her cold attitude. She wasn't all tarted up like other girls, and she wasn't aggressive like Mello. She seemed quiet; just the type of girl Matt wanted- a nice quiet girl to spend time with, maybe playing some video games or catching a movie with. Matt realised the introduction was over, and class had begun. In defiance, he decided it was time to play his favourite game, namely piss off the teacher, and get kicked out of class.

"Hey teach!" he called out, and smirked when everyone grinned expectantly. He glanced at Near briefly, seeing her stacking stationary in a complex structure, completely unperturbed. His teacher cringed, as she was well aware of what would happen. "Yes Mr Jeevas? Do you have a question?" She asked through gritted teeth.

His grin widened, he certainly did he have a question. He leaned back casually in his chair "So I was wondering, how are you so good at teaching sex ed Mrs? Is it because you're so frigid and just read about it, because that's all you can get?" The whole class burst into laughter and he heard someone yell "Mello strikes again!" Matt smirked cockily, it was well known that his behaviour had been greatly affected by his friendship with the notorious Miss Keehl, but he didn't care. Besides his behaviour was tame compared to Mello's, which was much worse than his.  
"Matt! Head teacher's office! Now!" The teacher yelled, pointing to the door, embarrassed. Matt however shook his head, grinning more. "Sorry miss, no can do. I got to watch her, remember?" he pointed towards Near.  
Near raised her hand to attract the teacher's attention. "May I leave also? The lesson barely started and you've made 5 mistakes already." Matt laughed, happy with the success of his game. He grabbed his bag, and gestured for Near to follow him. "Let's go," he said, and walked out the door, winking at the teacher. He casually put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it, inhaling steadily. Near followed Matt, continuously twirling her hair around her fingers. "That was a rather crude comment. I believe the lesson would be easier to deal with if you would comment less, and had let us all just drift out of focus and ignore all that's said." She said calmly and Matt chuckled.  
"Yes, but then we'd still be stuck in there." He said and sat on the stone stairs outside, glancing at Near who stood next to him. "So… Near is it?" he asked, and she nodded "Matt?"

He grinned, "You got my name right, well it's actually Mail but I hate that." He says, casually taking a drag on his cigarette. He spots a familiar face out on the playing field and grins standing up. "Oi, blondie!" he shouts, knowing Mello would react because she hated being called that.

Mello jogs over to them, wearing the school gym shorts and a t-shirt that Matt recognised. "Hey, isn't that mine?" He said, and she nodded. "So dickwad, who's the albino?" She asked, pointed to Near. "You didn't replace me already?" She asked mockingly, but then glared at Near, who looked back unaffected. Matt just smirked, Mello was so over protective of him- that's why he was always single.

"My name is Near. My parents died so I must go to public school now," the white haired girl said emotionlessly and Matt grinned.  
"Isn't she just a ray of sunshine, Mel?" He said teasingly, but Near remained unfazed.

Mello eyebrow rose sceptically. "She's weird."

"Hey now, you're weird too," he countered and then grinned. "So, Caro spoke to me."  
He chuckled; at the name of her ex he'd gotten Mello's full attention. She pressed herself against him and her shorts rose up revealingly as she did. "You like my weirdness, right..? And what did Caro want?" She asked, biting her lip in a way that made Matt groan. Her added weight didn't bother him at all, as he was very used to it. He put his arm around her waist to amuse her, and after taking a drag of his cigarette, exhaling smoothly.

"He seems to think he didn't cheat on you, that you're overacting and that I'm 'seriously uncool' for stealing you" he joked, and Mello nodded, hanging on his every word now it was about her. She glanced at Near, who was gazing at them emptily, but unfalteringly, "He's a dick. Tell me about snow white here." She said nodding toward Near.

"I don't really know much more than you Mel, she's new and her name's Near River... Oh, and her parents are six feet under." He petted Mello's hair calmingly, "put the claws away Mel, she's harmless." Mello flashed him a naughty smirk, "do you think she'd be up for anything?" She whispered into Matt's ear so Near didn't hear. Mello bit down lightly on his neck and ground against him, causing him to groan again. "Mel." He scolded her, but was unable to keep his tone entirely even.

It wasn't fair, Matt was only one man and Mello was smoking hot. He couldn't help that her hips against his were alerting feelings in him that he shouldn't have for his best friend, even if she did demand it. He had to keep reminding himself it was all an act, however much he wanted to drag her off behind the bleachers on the field. Luckily, she stopped before he really was tempted to do that, and turned to Near. She looked back unafraid despite Mello being visibly taller and definitely more dangerous than the tiny albino could ever be. Hell, he'd even seen Mello smash a boy's car window with her bare hands just for looking at her in the wrong way. Matt felt sorry for Near and the glares she was getting off Mello. "Hey Mel isn't that Caro over there, flirting with the head cheerleader? Why don't you go mess her up or something?" He pointed out, hoping it would get the attention off poor Near, as Near wasn't a threat and Mello was acting disturbingly possessive.

"Nah, she's a slut anyway and she's pregnant, so I don't care. Hey, I know! Let's go into town." She said, grabbing Near's arm, and pulled her along before slipping her other hand into Matt's so she was between him and Near. "I'm not gonna hurt her, Mattie… she could be fun." Matt nodded and Near willingly allowed herself to be pulled along by Mello, observing the blonde intently. "Mello is very kind," she concluded. "Damn right I'm kind, if you play my game." Mello smiled at Near. She leant down and kissed Near on the cheek, then winked at Matt. Matt stood, cursing Mello's lack of physical boundaries, but followed anyway. They arrived at the mall and Matt took off running into Game, like a child on its birthday. His goggles were off again as they always were when he was around Mello, and they clattered around his neck as he ran to the cashier. He'd pre-ordered the game, and he happily accepted the package, hugging it. "Sweetheart, I've been waiting for you…" He cooed at the parcel, then ran back to Mello and Near, who'd waited outside for him. Mello had been talking, and Near occasionally offered a reply. "I got it!" He said, grinning triumphantly as he placed the parcel in his bag.

"I'm hungry." Mello stated, and she dragged them both towards the cafeteria area of the mall. "So, Near, where are you staying at the moment?"  
Matt had ordered a chocolate sundae and chocolate milkshake for Mello, and turned to Near. "What would you like? It's my turn to buy, apparently" Near shook her head.  
"No thank you, I don't eat publically, and to answer Mello, I'm staying with my grandfather." Near said, in her usual monotone as she played with her hair.

"Wow, that's got to be lame. Hey, come with me to Matt's later, I'm sure we could have… lots of fun." Mello flirted, eating slowly, her eyes fixed on Near. Matt choked on the air at Mello's unsubtle innuendo and shot Mello a helpless look. "Mels…"  
"I'm sure Matt wouldn't want me in his house, and his parents would mind. But thank you, Mello, for being so kind."

Matt's heart tugged slightly. This girl was so sweet and kind, the polar opposite of Mello's boisterous personality. "Hey, I don't mind at all. And it'll be nice for someone else to witness Mello's cruelty. That and, well, I don't have parents either. I live all alone." He smiled, which turned into a wince when Mello sat on his lap, and kicked him under the table. "See Near, Matt wants you to come."

Matt nodded, arms around Mello's waist to stop her from falling. "I don't mind at all."

Near, still playing with her hair, nodded to say that she'd come. Matt smiled cheerfully before whispering to Mello, "you're gonna have to stall her so I can tidy my room- the gun's still on my floor," he said and she gave him a disapproving look. Mello was critical of Matt's untidiness, but, well for starters he could never be bothered to care, let alone clean, and secondly he'd been too busy trying to stop her from banging his front door in to clear up that morning.

"Good, then it's all settled. Matt and I have something to do after school, so why don't you meet us at the school gates about an hour after it closes? That'll also give you time to get anything you need for the night from where you're living."

Matt sighed. "Or she could just give me her address and I can get her in my car?"

Mello rolled her eyes. She really did hate his car but he couldn't understand why. He loved it. She leaned her head back against his shoulder, angling her neck so that he would be able to reach it with his mouth. "No, we'll meet her at school gates at about half three."

"Fine, fine. Why do you hate my car, Mel?" He asked, giving her a small kiss on her neck but Mello moaned as it wasn't enough and arched herself against him. "Does it matter? Your car sucks."

"Hey, now, my car doesn't suck! She's a beauty," he said protectively, but he laughed. "Okay, she is sucky but she's still my car."

Near watched them, her black eyes as emotionless as ever. "Matt, I believe you're ignoring what Mello would like you to do."

Mello grinned at Near. "That's right, Matt."

Matt let out a deep chuckle. "I know exactly what she wants, and if she wants it, she'd better not diss my car," he said, giving Mello another teasing nip. Near gazed at them then leant across the table, biting Mello's neck and then sat back. "I do believe Mello wanted this from Matt, rather than me, but Mello looked rather pathetic waiting."  
Mello was holding her neck, stunned beyond belief. "Woah, woah… What the fuck?" She exclaimed, staring at Near.

Matt did the only thing he could do, as Mello stood up in shock, and Near stared at her blankly. He laughed, and laughed hard, falling off his chair. Near was certainly surprising and he loved it. He lay on the floor, crying with laughter, clutching his sides and ignoring the bizarre looks he was getting from the two girls.


	2. Chapter 2

Well here it is for all you fan girls (and boys) Chapter 2 of our story. Thanks to those who have reviewed and subscribed to this story we hope you enjoy.

my partner for this project is Chocolate-SugerCube. so if you like this go check out her work.

As always please enjoy the story but most of all please review :) oh and also we don't own death note... now that's all clear enjoy.

* * *

_(Note: Lemon at beginning of this chapter if you don't wish to view look for the saftey line in bold.) _

Stuck In The Middle With You

Chapter 2

Matt walked Near to her grandfather at the bus stop and then headed back to school spotting Mello waiting for him lying on the grass on the field. He walked over and sat with her. "Hey." He said and leant over kissing her cheek softly. "She got home okay then?" Mello asked, as she'd made Matt take Near home. Matt nodded and caressed her hair, "yeah, some old dude picked her up from the bus stop. So why are we here again? Beside that you want Caro to see you with me here." Mello raised an eyebrow at him, he was totally clueless sometime.

She moved to straddling his lap. "What do you think?"  
"Well I just thought you were joking." He said, getting nervous as always, and wrapped his arms around her small waist. She pressed herself against him and leant up for a kiss. "Matt, let's play…" she said, trying to tug his shirt off, to no avail. "Sure," he whispers, kissing her softly. His hands tangle into her soft hair, 'god, kissing her shouldn't be allowed. I mean, we've done this before, but can best friends be allowed to do this?' He thought as she pulled away, looking at him. She stared at him for a moment, and then sighed. "Jesus, Matt, it isn't like we've never done this before. Will you calm down?" She said, lying back on the grass and beckoning him down atop of her. 'I get nervous every time...' He thought to himself and blushed faintly, leaning down kissing her neck. His hands roamed under her tight shirt until his hands found her bra. 'She actually wore a bra today, huh..? Impressive.' He unclipped her bra, pushing it up off her chest, along with her top.

"Mel, wouldn't you be comfier on a bed?" He mutters to her, pulling her golden hair the way he knows she likes it. Mello groans bucking her hips. "Don't be stupid, it's too far away."  
He chuckles again, one of his many nervous habits, and undid his jeans before she could. "Do you want me to get right to it?" Mello smirked at him with obvious chagrin,  
"you're not seriously just going to actually do that without anything?" He tilted his head, confused at her mocking, "I got protection" he said as he pulled out a condom, which she rolled her eyes at and smacked it out of his hand. "When do I ever ask for that, Matt? You know I'm safe anyway." He nods and sits back on his heels, still entirely confused. "What did you mean then?" She looked up at him sulkily from under her long, mascara-coated eyelashes, and pulled him back down onto her.

"Forget it, just hurry up, Near will be here soon."  
He nodded, and kissed her gently. She returned the kiss a lot more harshly, "c'mon, hurry up!" She whined, and thrust her hips against his eagerly. He growled at her, and nipped at her collar bone and neck. "Now, now, no need to be a bitch, Mel." He groaned as he pinned her down. She whined again, clawing down his back. "Matt, what's the problem? Are you finding it impossible to get hard, or something?" She mocked him, though she knew he was fully aroused.  
"Hey, I'm fine" he said, and kissed her neck a few more times before removing his erection from inside his boxers, as they were coming far too constricting. He lifted her skirt up, and silently worshipped whoever invented them as he teased her. "Christ, Mello, you're all wet. What a horny girl you are..." He said, rubbing her through her panties.  
She growled at him, which made him smirk. "Of course I am, you won't fuck me, damn it." He laughed and slid her panties to the side. He slid his length into her as she dug her nails into him. 'Holy shit, this never gets old.' He groaned, and thrust deeper into her. "Jesus, Mello, you're really tight… When did you last have sex?" he asked, panting.

They started at a slow rhythm, with Mello swearing and moaning softly in his ear continuously. He rocked in and out at a slow pace, then swiftly picked up speed. Here he was; Mail Jeevas, aka Matt, fucking one of the most desired and dangerous girls in school. This was only one of the many perks of being her best friend. She clung to him, crying out his name. Her hand was in his hair, pulling it lightly and moaning repeatedly against his skin. He dipped his head and kissed her lips, then her neck before biting there softly. He was so close already, and as he looked at her adorably sexy flushed face; her eyes closed in ecstasy, her lips reddened from his kisses, and her hair stuck to her face with sweat. "Mello! I'm gonna come…" He groaned, and in return she pulled him down to her lips again. His body jerked wildly against hers, his length pulsing inside her as he came. Mello moaned louder, clawing at his back and neck.

"Come on, Mel, come for me," he whispered in her ear, kissing down her jaw-line to her neck. She cried out his name in longing, and arched against him. She bit down on his shoulder, trying to resist screaming any louder as she bucked against him in frenziedly. He smirked, loving the small amount of power of Mello. "Come on Mel, come hard." He whispers as he pins her down, so she can't move as he pounds into her. That makes her scream as she came, clawing down his back, and leaving scratches even through his top.  
He groaned, though more in pain than pleasure this time, "That's going to hurt tomorrow." He muttered, then looked down at her, "hey, are you ok, Mello?" He asked and kissed her forehead, still inside her as she holds onto him, keeping him close.

**-(End of Lemon)- **

"Tired now. Can we just go home and sleep?"  
"That's not nice, what about Near?" He said, and she lets go sulking cutely

"You're already thinking of another girl already?" she asked jokingly, and he blushed faintly, praying that she wouldn't notice. "No... Of course not, Mello. You know your fake love for me to get over your ex-boyfriends is the only thing I'm ever interested in." he joked back, and smiled nervously. He stood up, fixing himself and then helped her up and made sure she looked ok. "Right, you wait here for Near and I'll run ahead to clean." She nodded, sorting out her hair, and smiled affectionately to him. "Okay."  
He kissed her cheek and got up, "be nice to her, alright?" He said, and ran off home, desperate to clean it up before the two girls arrived back. It didn't take him long to set the room up, after finding a decent hiding place for his gun, and Mello arrived soon after he'd finished, dragging Near behind her. He let them in, and Near collapsed on the battered chair in the front room, her porcelain cheeks tinted pink.

Near sat on the floor of Matt's bedroom with him next to her and Mello lounging above on the sofa. Mello had brought Near back from the school, telling her that Matt had to go sort out something, and he'd meet them at his house. They were raking through Matt's video games, though in Matt's opinion, it was more Near and him looking, and Mello sulking. "There's a game I used to play, before the house fire, that I lost, I don't suppose you have it…" Near continued looking through the games, describing the game to him until she found it, her eyes lightening monetarily. "Perhaps if Matt doesn't mind, we could play it?" she asks. Matt smiles, passing her a controller and inserting the disk, "go ahead." Near gave him a small nod towards him. She piqued his curiosity perfectly with that nonreactive, emotionless demeanour. He desperately wanted so see some emotion from her, he thought as he watched as she perfectly navigated around the game world.

Mello sighed, slumping down more into the sofa, and glared at the screen. "God, this is so boring..."  
Matt turned to her, "well, go do something you normally do then." He said calmly. Mello sulked and climbed onto his lap. "Matt, what's so interesting about that?" She punctuated each word with a light nip to his neck, and pointed to the screen when she'd finished speaking. He smiled at her playfulness, "games are fun" he said, "Near, dodge!" He called, as Near guided the character around the game easily, muttering calculations under her breath as she did. He chuckled, and complimented Near's gaming skills. Near leant slightly on him to get comfy, distracted from their closeness by the game. He smiled at the contact, one arm casually rested on the sofa above her head, her downy hair brushing it occasionally. He enjoyed her warmth and her concentration on the game was quite adorable. Mello sulked off, muttering that she was off to the fridge.

Matt grins, "okay, now tap X, X, square, and then triangle, so you can get different ammo." He said, and smiled when Near muttered about already knowing this. "I'm well aware, thank you Matt." He smiled at her game knowledge, it was nice to have someone who wouldn't bitch at him over his gaming. "Have you played this?" she asked, seeming un-distracted by the conversation.

He laughed and casually leant into her, his arm now around her. "Completed it several times, after all I am a gamer." He boasted and leant his head on hers, and watching her play. She continued to silently play the game for about half an hour until she completes it. She doesn't seem to be bothered by him holding her, and that made him pleased. She was so cute, and he liked her lots, which to him he felt silly since he'd only known her a day. He ruffled her hair affectionately, "congrats, you beat my record."

Near turns to him, her voice calm, but she refused to look him in the eye, focusing on the ground instead. "I'm sure I could have done this faster, I apologize for wasting some time on it." She placed the controller on the floor and gazed up at him, shifting slightly making Matt want her to go back, as she was warm and he was more than happy to share his warmth with her.  
"Hey, don't worry about it. It was fun to watch." He said. Near looks around the room, "we should find Mello…"  
"Nah, she'll come back. She always does." He said, and stretched. He then removed his goggles from off his neck, since they were digging into his collar bone painfully.

"What should we do now?" She asked, a ghost of curiosity in her voice. He smiled, 'she's just so cute…' He thought as he casually played with her hair, which dangled on her cheek causing his hand to brush her cheek. "Whatever you like Near."  
"What are you doing?" She asks, looking up at him. The blankness in her grey eyes making Matt want to bring some emotions out of her. He wanted to make her more alive, to break her doll-like composure and find who she really is.  
"Near," he shifted closer, and stroked her face gently, "smile for me?" She blinked, staring blankly at him. "Do I have to? There's no requirement to." It annoyed him; he wanted to see something in those black eyes of hers. "I want to see your emotions, Near." he said softly, tucking away her hair behind her ear.

"I never see an importance for them." She said honestly, and Matt nodded, smiling "I bet I can bring out yours." She sighed softly. "If you find it essential, I suppose you can try." He couldn't help but chuckle, "you're so damn cute, Near." He said, before leaning forward and brushing his lips to hers softly. He felt her stiffen for a moment, then she then calmed but she didn't respond. He pulled away slowly, and tilted her chin up with his fingertips until her gaze met his. "Near, it takes two to do this." He said, and kissed her again; this time deeper, though she refused to open her mouth for him. She let out a small, almost inaudible, squeak when he nipped at her bottom lip lightly, trying to gain entrance. He held her close when she pulled away from his lips, and gazed up at him.

"Matt?"  
"Yes. Near?" he asked, returning her gaze with a smile.  
"Why are we doing this?"  
He thought for a moment, then shrugs.  
"I don't know."  
Her eyes dulled, the small amount of life in them hidden again.  
"Then you should refrain until you do know."  
He grips her hand tightly, stroking her palm. "It's because you're cute, and sweet. I'm happy sat here with you." He said, guiding the hand on her neck up to play with the tips of her silky hair. She still looked up at him with those empty, black eyes, and it annoyed him. 'Can't I even have some emotion off her?' he thought, 'Would it really be that difficult for her to humour me with just one smile, even if she dislikes me that much…' He sighed, feeling hopeless.

"What is making Matt happy?" She asked suddenly, stunning him out of his thoughts. "Just about you, Near." He said, stroking her cheek gently, she looked away from him, focusing on the main menu screen of the game.

"I see." She said, and moved her gaze to the bedroom door. Was she hoping for Mello to come back? He didn't know, but he hoped not.  
"I'm not sure Matt has realised, but it's quite cold." He lifted her up onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her tiny waist. "I'll keep you warm, Near." She looked at him with a small smirk which was more mockingly vacant than the teasing glare he was used to from Mello. "You know, a blanket would work equally well, if not better." She said and he shrugged. "I like this." he whispered to her, "you're so cute, Near."  
Matt lifted her up into his arms and laid them both on the bed, after she complained the floor was uncomfortable. Near lay next to him, twisting his hair around her pale fingers. Her touch made his body tingle pleasantly. He kissed her gently, and her hand on his hair tightened for a moment and he pulled away. "Are you okay?" he asked, she nodded in reply, "I am, thank you."

She sits for a moment, and looks down at him. "Matt really desires a reaction from me, doesn't he?" She asked, her fingers still in his hair, touching his neck softly with her other hand, as if curious. He nodded and leant into the hand now caressing his cheek. "Why?" she asked, sounding genuinely curious, and he looked up at her through her hair that now curtained her eyes.  
"Because Near is cute, and I like Near a lot." He realised he was catching onto her way of speaking, and quickly changed it. "I want to see emotions from you."  
"Matt can try but I'm sure he won't succeed, as I am not good with emotions. They'd just aren't essential to me." Matt sighed softly sitting up. "I'll take you home, Near." He said, and glanced around for his goggles. Didn't she like him?  
"I can't. I said I'd be out tonight." she said defiantly, and Matt nodded. He resigned that as the only reason she was staying.  
"Alright. Stay on the bed, you can sleep there. Do you want anything to eat?"  
"No thank you. It seems Miss Keehl went home." She said softly, and Matt took her tone to mean she resented being there with him alone.  
"Yeah, it's her fault you're stuck here with me." He said, sighing and laid down on the sofa, planning to sleep there for the night.

"I'm sorry, Near" Matt closed his eyes, hoping she wouldn't dislike him that much for this. After lying there a few moments, he felt a weight next to him on the sofa, and suddenly her soft lips were on his. Matt's eyes shot open in shock, but he slowly responded to the kiss. She lay down next to him and her lifeless eyes searched his for a reaction. He gazed up at her, full of feelings she couldn't understand. "Near…" He muttered, stroking her porcelain cheek.  
"Are you tired, Matt?" She asked, and leant her face into the crook of his neck. He felt her eyes close, and he held her closer. Matt felt no need for words, he was completely and utterly content with this situation. He smiled down at her, realised she'd fallen into a gentle sleep while clinging onto his shirt. It was odd, he'd known her for only a day and he'd admit he was insanely attracted to her. He suddenly froze. 'Mello's going to kill me tomorrow at school.'


	3. Chapter 3

Hey we are back again ^_^ Here is chapter 3 of Stuck In The Middle With You.

If you like this story then feel free to read other stories i've done and also check out my co-writer Chocolate-SugerCube's work out.

Disclaimer: We don't own death note T^T

Read and enjoy but please review.

* * *

**Stuck In The Middle With You**

Chapter 3

He was in a dark room, a room he swore he force himself to forget. He glanced at the door in fear as he heard footsteps. 'Why is this happening?' He thought, hiding himself under the bed.  
"Oh Mail, where are you?" Called the alcohol-slurred voice of his father. As door swung opened, Mail shifted to the back of his bed so he was against the wall and lay silent. "Come out, Mail, daddy wants to talk to you…" the drunken man said with a smirk, hiccupping and dropping a bottle. It rolled along the floor, spilling its contents across the wood. Mail was glad it hadn't broken, as it would mean more danger to him. His father stopped at the bed and reached under, and Mail was glad he was far back. His father then knelt down beside the bed, and his piercing eyes came on Mail. "There you are, boy." He smirked again, and stood up, lifting the thin metal framed bed up as he did. He grabbed Mail and dragged him out of it hiding place. Mail yelped, attempting to wriggle away from his angry father.  
"Let me go!" Mail yelled. His father dropped him, and then brought his foot hard down on his stomach, knocking all air out of him. Mail lay on the floor, wincing when his father grabbed his hair. "I can't stand you... you look too much like your mother..." He hissed, "You killed her, you know. Let's have a child, she says. A beautiful daughter, she says. Instead I have to deal with you, after you killed my wife. You should have died." His father spat coldly, and threw him against the wall. "Fucking waste of space bastard." he growled, and walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

Matt awoke in a cold sweat, shaking slightly. 'Damn it, why now?' He thought, rubbing his face tiredly. He took special counselling to forget all the abuse his father had given him, so why was it all coming back now? He groaned, and then froze, feeling movement next to him. 'Mello didn't stay over last night... Wait, where is my gun?' He began to panic, before he looked down, remembering the evening's events.  
"Near…"  
He went from stunned to embarrassed, 'what on earth is she doing here..? Oh wait, Mello dumped her here last night. Where is Mello? What day is it? Oh! Fuck, school!' He began to wriggle away from Near, but she clung to him.  
She moaned almost inaudibly, burying her face into his shirt. Her eyes were closed tightly and she was quite obviously in deep sleep. Matt couldn't help but think she was completely adorable. He leant closer, and gentle stroked her pale cheek. She was so pale that Matt wondered if she'd been crafted from porcelain, the image of a porcelain doll did suit her and was rather appealing. He leant down and placed kiss on her forehead in a loving way, then called her name again. She stirred slowly, her eyelashes fluttering as she gazed up at him. He saw a tiny amount of shock in her eyes, but it soon vanished. "Good morning, Matt," she said calmly.  
He smiled as she looked around, confused at her surrounding. Her eyes were half lidded and she stretched herself against him, wincing slightly as she did. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, and she nodded slowly, then looked up at him again. "What about you?"  
He chuckled nervously as images of his nightmare returned, "It was alright."  
Near gave him a vacant stare, as if trying to see past the lie, then looked away. "I think Matt would highly benefit from a cold shower. It seems he's more awake than he lets on. I can make breakfast if he'd like to sort himself out?"

He flushed red, how could she be so calm and unemotional when talking about something like that, especially with his erection pressed against her? "Okay, thanks." He muttered and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door shut. He leant against the door, swearing at himself and muttering about how much he hated his hormones. He sighed softly, slipping out of his boxers and starting the shower. He leant against the bathroom counter in all his naked glory as the shower heated up. He casually glanced in the mirror that hung next to him, complimenting himself inwardly on his looks. He was slim, with some muscle; from all the work he did on weeknights down the warehouse to afford the bungalow, he enjoyed the work and he had Fridays and weekends off. His hair was tousled, and his green eyes were sparkling from the adrenaline rush. He casually glanced down at his length, and smirked. He knew he was large, and if it satisfied Mello, he was sure it could satisfy any other girl. At that thought, he groaned. First remembering Mello, then imagining Near underneath him, blushing and panting cutely.

Hopping into the shower, he stood under the warm water for a few moments, then changed it to cold. He swore at the sudden temperature change. He glared down when his arousal still hadn't left. 'Come on, what do you want me to do? Get off myself while she's still in the house?' He thought, glaring down at the bobbing flesh that seemed to be mocking him. It seemed he had no choice, and allowed his hand to travel downwards. His imagination soon kicked in, and he didn't imagine himself. Instead he imagined innocent sweet Near, in white underwear and curling her white hair around her finger. Her beautiful face was lit up by a small smile. He tipped his head back and groaned, imagining her walking over, biting her lip that wonderfully sexy way. She approached him, and her eyes met his, eyes full of passion and longing. "It's seems Matt has a problem here." She said, and lowered her hand to his length. He groaned again, speeding up his movements.

Matt returned to the bedroom in just boxers, drying his hair with a towel. "Near?" He called, then remember she said she was going to make breakfast. He walked into the kitchen and saw Near sitting at his kitchen counter, eating what looked liked eggs and sausage. He blushed as he remembered what he'd done moments before. She looked up at him and gave him a gentle nod. "Good morning," she said to him, and he laughed quietly. Obviously she was fully awake now, unlike before.  
"Hey," he smiled and sat down, looking at the plate she pushed in front of him. "You made me some?" He asked.  
"Well I said I would." They sat together, awkwardly eating breakfast, until she spoke again. "You know, its okay. It's very common for boys to get that in the morning, in fact, it's a sign of good health." He blushed and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Well thanks I guess, for being understanding," he laughed, and took a bite of the food, savouring it. He was used to ordering take-out or having microwave meals, this was so good to him. "This tastes amazing, Near." He said with enthusiasm as he finished it, before standing up and taking his and Near's plates to the sink. He kissed her cheek in thanks, before going to his room to get changed.

"We better go to school." He said, as he returned in his usual outfit, putting on his goggles as he spoke. She nodded in agreement, following him to the front door. "You know, my mother taught me to cook." He smiled at her and ruffled her hair, "Well you're a lucky girl, I never met my mother…"  
His voice trailed of, and he stood quietly staring into space for a few moments, before looking back to her with a smile. "We better go, Mello will be after us."  
Near checked her mobile quickly while picking up her school bag, then stopped and put it back down.  
"I assume Matt hasn't realised the day?"  
He shook his head truthfully. To him all days just blurred into a mass of school, games and Mello. She smiled slightly, her black eyes turning a lighter colour to a grey. "It's Saturday."  
"Are you serious?" He asked, and when she nodded he slapped his forehead. "I'm such an idiot!" He then grinned, thinking how she'd shown some emotions and she'd looked so beautiful when she did. Sadly it was short-lived, as Near's eyes had already faded back to black, and she'd become emotionless once again.

"Perhaps Matt would like to spend some more time with me?"  
"Of course!" He grinned, then hoped he hadn't seemed too desperate. "So, uh, what do you want to do?"  
"Can we perhaps play a game?" She asked, gesturing to his room, and he nodded, not allowing his mind to take those words out of context. 'She's definitely my kind of girl.' He thought as they walked to his room. He sat with her as she looked through his games. "What should we play?" she asked after a minute or so, and he took a two player shooter.  
"What about this one? I've wanted to play it for ages and Mello won't." He asked. She nodded and took a controller, sitting down on the sofa. He loaded up the game and sat next to her, but carefully as not to touch her unless she wanted to. He didn't mind holding her, in fact he wanted to, but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

He started the game, mentioning it was a simple game to learn. They played through the first few levels quickly, "you're a natural." He smiled.  
She nodded, "I used to play games with my father a lot. He'd take me out for ice-cream when I won." She said simply and completely factually, as if it wasn't her recently deceased parent she was talking about. He thought bitterly about his own father, "you're lucky, he sounds so nice." He muttered, and continued to tap the buttons on the controller he knew so well. "He was, he looked after me when- you're being shot at, my mother got depression from my abduction."  
She said, dodging an enemy. Matt however, froze, staring at her for a moment. "Your abduction?"  
He dodged, and killed the enemy. "Behind you." He said, and shot the character after Near.  
She dodged and carried on, "thank you, do we go through that hole there?" She asked and gestured toward the screen. He nodded, obviously it seemed she was changing subject, but he didn't mind. "Yeah, we do. Then what you do is turn left and, if I remember correctly, you turn left again, but be careful as a zombie dog pops up." He said, and sat further back on the sofa.  
She nodded and carried on playing "well I suppose you wouldn't have heard of a serial rape and mutilation case about 9 and a half years ago, where all victims were female children?"  
He froze and looked at her, "There was something like that on the news when I was about 9... " He muttered, turning back to the screen, and she merely continued to stare at the screen.

"I was the only survivor, four girls from my class were killed."  
"You were?" He looked at her again, stunned, maybe that had something to do with her lack of emotion?  
"My name and location was changed and never disclose anywhere in the media, of course, and I'd be grateful if you didn't say anything to Mello, or anyone else."  
"I won't tell." He said, smiling gently and watching as she refocused entirely on the game before. He resigned himself to that that was the end of their conversation and sat closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her with a sudden urge to protect her, and he could only feel calm when she was in his arms. He continued playing, only the position was a tad awkward, until she eventually laid back into his arms and rested her head on his chest. They continued to play together, occasionally discussing which way to go, but other than that, conversation was extremely scarce. They were closed to the final level, which was further than he'd got with Mello, when he noticed something odd on the screen. Near's character was just running around in circles facing the sky. He tilted his head to look at her, and noticed she'd fallen asleep on him. He smiled, saving and switching off the game with the controller, placed the TV on standby. "Game over…" He whispered softly, and lifted her up into his arms. He took her over to his bed and tucked her in. "sleep well, little snowy," He said, and stroked her hair affectionately for a few moments.

He was about to leave, to wash up the breakfast plates and maybe clean up the house a bit, but stopped when he felt something tug on his shirt sleeve. He looked back, seeing Near fast asleep but clung to him, mumbling something incomprehensible. He smiled again, thinking about how she was clingy when asleep, and sat on the bed. He shifted her so that her head rested on the pillow he'd placed on his lap. He sat stroking her hair, staring at the ceiling and wondering why she brought him so much calmness. Though, he did also wonder why he'd started to have his nightmare after 5 years of forgetting it. Perhaps it was coincidental, but part of him thought that perhaps, just maybe, it was something to do with the beautiful girl on his lap.

After some time, Matt heard the front door slam shut, and Mello appeared in the doorway to his room. "You're home! That's good." She smiled.  
"Hey Mels, what's up?" He asked from his place lying back on his headboard, a gaming magazine was next to him as he'd been reading up some cheats for the game he'd been playing with Near. Near was still fast asleep, but he'd covered her in his bed sheets to warm her up. Her head was on the pillow on his lap still, and she was breathing softly. Mello dropped down on the bed next to Matt and grinned. "Hey you," She giggled and he raised an eyebrow.  
"Hey Mel how're you?" He asked, and she smiled again, and stretched herself against him, slowly edging into straddling him.  
"I just got up and it's like 12, I went out last night and it was totally killer! You should've come instead of hanging out with her." She pointed to Near.  
He smiled down at Near, "we had great fun." He then looked over Mello's appearance, "did you get laid?"  
Mello let out one of her uncharacteristic giggles and ran her hands through his hair, rocking her hips into his. "You know I'm always faithful, baby." She winked and Matt caught the smell of alcohol and smoke that smelled oddly like weed on her. 'Mello obviously is out of her head again…' He ruffled her hair, wondering why she found so much fun in doing that.  
"Sure Mello, but you do realise us is an act," he said, pointing between them both and kissed her nose, "don't forget that."

She rolled her eyes, coldly muttering to him. "Shut up, Matt." She kissed him hard, pushing him back against the headboard roughly and bit his lip until he opened his mouth. He groaned in pain as his head hit the headboard. She was too busy shoving her tongue in his mouth to notice. 'Damn it, Mello, you're such a violent bitch when you're drunk.' He slowly pulled her off, remembering sweet Near next to him. "Come on Mels, let go." He coaxed. trying to pull her off.  
"Matty, you know you want me, baby…" She said and kissed him again softer. This time she let him have control, but instead he sat up and pushed her off. "Mello, no. you're totally out of it, stop it. Go take a shower, alright? You stink of smoke." He got up, gently resting Near's head down as he did, and gave Mello a shirt and trousers of his. "Here, takes these. Go change and wash."  
Mello rolls her eyes again, lying on the bed and pulling Near against her. "Oh, I see. Not happy with me anymore since snowy came along? Got a new girl, mh Matty?" She teased, flicking out her tongue and running it over her lips. Matt felt jealousy surge through him when Mello pulled Near's smaller body against hers. "Let her go, Mello, she's asleep. I don't have a new girl, I just don't fancy you when you're pissed, Mel."  
Mello smirks cockily, leaning down and kissing Near's neck lightly. "You know, she's so soft, Matt. Did you know that? Oh, I bet you already did, ne? Have you already touch her, Matt? Tasted her soft skin? Or ever, say- Fucked her?" She grins unsettlingly and holds Near closer to her.  
Matt did then something that shocked even him; he felt a growl rumble in his chest and felt the need to stand up to Mello, for the first time since he'd met her. "Let her go, Mello," he strode over and pulled Near away into his arms, holding her protectively. "Stop being such a sicko."

Mello began to laugh, and lay back on the bed. "Come with me in the shower, Matty, sweetie. I promise to be a really good girl."  
He grimaced, 'as if she could be good.' He watched as Mello looked up at him invitingly, "Mello, no. I'm not in the mood, besides I already had one."  
Mello's smirk turned into a naughty grin. "Had one? A shower or a fuck? To be honest, I can't imagine Near being much good at that, you know?" Mello joked and stretched, making her shirt rising up. He sighed, "a shower, you pervert." He rested Near on the sofa and turned to Mello, "now you go and shower." He handed her the clothes again. He had to admit that, as much as he loved his best friend, she was a pain in the ass when drunk.  
"Fine, but go get me coffee? Toast would be awesome too." She said, ending the last sentence in a slight sing-song voice as she twirled her hair in her hand casually. He chuckled, nodding and walked off to the kitchen to fulfil her requests. 'Mello, you're such a pain.'

When he returned, he froze and almost dropped both the coffee, and the toast plate, when he saw that; not only was Mello gone, but Near too. The bathroom door was locked, and he could hear water running. "Mello?" He walked to the bathroom door and was about to bang on it, when he heard voices and abruptly stopped.  
"Is Mello sure about this?" He recognised Near's toneless voice over the rush of water.  
"Of course. You need a bath anyway, right? And this way we'll be ecologgi, ecolob, egoloc... Ah, whatever, we're saving water this way." Mello sounded happy, which he supposed was good seeing as she was locked in a room with Near.  
"Mello is a lot more developed than I am…" Near said, and he froze again when he heard clothes rustling and Mello giggling at Near's last comment.  
"Hey, it's alright Near. C'mere, to me, okay?" He heard movement. "Give me your hand, okay?" He heard Mello say, and then a small squeak and Mello giggled again. "Cool, huh?"  
Matt paled, wondering what on earth were they doing. "I don't suppose, perhaps… I could?"  
"Go ahead." Mello giggled again, and then squealed.  
Matt felt the majority of his blood travelling south, he knew shouldn't be listening. He heard splashing as someone obviously got into the bath, and heard Mello gasp happily. "Mmmh, it's nice. Come, Near, you get in too." He heard another splash, and a soft moan from Near that made him freeze.  
"It does feel nice," Near said, "Though, Matt's bath doesn't really have enough room for us both."  
"No, but if you move… Like that, yeah. And put your leg over mine, here. See?" There were various splashing noises, and movement.  
"Mello pays a lot of attention to grooming herself, doesn't she?"

Matt felt like he was going to faint as he moved away to the door. "Jesus Christ…" He muttered, lying down on his bed. From the bathroom he heard Mello giggling and then an unfamiliar laugh. Then Mello swearing and calling for him, whilst laughing. Matt was, by then, in a ball muttering to himself about girls trying to kill him. He swore that unfamiliar laugh must have been Nears. He felt like sulking, how was it that Mello could make sweet Near laugh and not him? He liked her more after all. When he heard Mello calling for him, he sighed and walked to the door. "What?" He called.  
Mello was too busy laughing to answer immediately, "we need more towels, since we've dropped them in the bath by accident, and well Near is totally naked and dripping water all over the floor!" He bit his lip to suppress a groan, the idea of a dripping wet, naked Near was too much for him. He got them a towel from his room, staring at his bedroom door, determined not to even attempt to look in the direction of the bathroom, when he passed it to them through the very slightly opened door.  
"Thanks, Matt. Hey, did you know that Near's- Near!' She broke off in a squeal of giggles, "Is naturally white haired!"  
That was enough to send blood gushing out of his nose. He went to the table in his room, getting some tissue and lying back on the sofa.

The girls stepped out of the bathroom soon after, wrapped in only towels. Near's white skin was flushed pink from the heat of the bath, and Mello had her towel around her a bit too loose so it opened a bit when she moved. "Where's that hairdryer I got you?" She called and Matt turned away, blushing and pointed to the dresser cabinet.  
Near sits on the bed with Mello behind her, drying and combing her hair  
"So, like I was saying, I told him that if he didn't pay up I'd tell his wife and kids, so he did immediately and I bought an awesome pair of shoes. I'll have to show you sometime, okay?"  
She spoke loudly to be heard over the hairdryer, but Near didn't seem to be too interested anyway.  
Matt noticed Near seemed tense, even though Mello was being gentle and carefully making sure not to pull her hair or burn her with the hairdryer. Matt got up and dropped his tissue in the bin. He watched Near for a moment, but turned back away before she noticed he was watching her, or at least he hoped he did.

Mello smiled cheerfully, "there, you're all done. My turn, okay?" She passed Near the hairdryer and comb, and they switch positions so Near could do Mello's hair instead. Near was also gentle with Mello, who sat chatting happily. Matt muttered about going for a cigarette, and went to his front door, opening it and leaning on the door frame. 'Why do I feel so angry about Mello touching Near?' He wondered as he lit a cigarette. He took a deep drag, before exhaling slowly, sighing as it calmed him. He was stunned when he realised just how pent up he was. He came out of his thoughts with a start when an old man appeared before him. He seemed familiar, but it took him a few moments realise that it was Near's grandfather. "Hey, nice to see you again, sir." He said hurriedly, and the old man gave him a kind smile. "Yes, young man, it's nice to see you too. Now, where is my granddaughter?"  
"Oh, she's with my friend Mello. They're probably talking about girly things." He let the old man into the house, and shouted for Near.

Mello and Near soon came out, and Matt blushed faintly upon seeing how pretty Near looked. Near was in a white knee length dress and cream coloured jeans, whereas Mello was wearing the same leather vest and denim mini skirt she'd worn the rest of that day. 'So much for her changing.' He groaned inwardly.  
Near's grandfather smiled, "you look lovely, Nate."  
"Thank you," Near nodded in acceptance, " I'm sorry to keep you waiting, grandfather."  
Mello looks at him, then gasps. "Oh my God! You're Mr Wammy, aren't you?" she grinned.  
Matt's jaw dropped. "No way is he Wammy!"  
The old man gave a gentle smile, "well, yes, I am Quillish Wammy."  
Mello was now very star-struck. "This is so cool, Near! I'm so jealous. I mean, this guy is a total legend!" Matt had to agree with that. This man was the best weapon designer since forever.  
Near shrugged casually "I never really thought much of it, but I'm glad Mello is impressed."  
"Impressed? Are you kidding? I'm fucking honoured! Meeting Mr Wammy in person." She giggled happily, looking at the old man with daughterly adoration.

Wammy then turned to Matt, "well, Mail, do you still have that gun I gave you?"  
Matt nodded, flushed. "Yes sir, it's in my room." He said, as Matt had met purchased something from him a while ago. After his father was gone, Matt was very paranoid about anyone around him, and living alone was scary, so he'd had to personally find and persuade the weapon manufacturer to let him buy it.  
"Rod Ross, my adoptive father, was a huge fan of your work; he even gave me one of your collection line 22 handguns for my 9th birthday! You know him right?"  
"I believe so, and I'm honour to meet such a fan." Mello smiled charmingly, and he returned her smile before turning to Near "Are you ready to leave?"  
Near nodded, "yes my bag is by the door." She looked to Matt, "thank you, Matt, I've enjoyed being here."  
"Well, I was happy to have you here." He smiled to her, even though he desperately wanted to hug. "We'll see you soon, okay?"  
"Yes, on Monday, I'll be in school." She picked up her bag, then looked thoughtful for a moment. "Unless something unexpected happens..." She pondered aloud.  
He chuckled and gave her a small wink, "well, I'll pray it doesn't." He blushed slightly when he realised he was flirting, and smiled nervously. "See you Monday, Near."

After Near and her grandfather had left, and Mello had recovered from her shock, she slumped into the old living room chair. "Alright, so, on a scale of one to ten, how far did you get with her?"  
He sat down next to her, "I kissed her, that was it."  
"So, about a 4? Any tongue?" Mello cuddled into him as if she were pleased at that.  
"No tongue." he said softly, and put his arm casually around her. "What about you? Who'd you shack with?"  
Mello gazed up at him innocently, "I really didn't do it with anyone, I was hoping you'd be up for something when I got here."  
Matt frowned, he knew he had to stand up to this if he were ever going to get things to change. "Mel, I do like you, you're my best friend, and you've always been there for me, but I just can't keep acting like your fuck toy." He rubs his hands through his hair, adrenaline rushing through him. "I really hope you understand, Mello, but I like Near lot, and it's not your fault. It's mine, you're amazing, and you can find any boy you want. I just really want a girl for me, for once and I... Well, I think, maybe, Near could be that girl." He bit his lip, waiting for Mello's anger.  
Mello looked angry for a moment as she took in what he said, but then her expression softened. "Matty, you know Near's totally unavailable in almost every way, right?" She sighed, before snuggling up to him again "But whatever I'll be here when you realise that." She giggles.

He looked down, stunned, and then sighed, thinking he'd gotten away with it. He realised he'd thought wrong, when Mello looked up at him with tears in her eyes.  
"Matt, I've seen them like her, before you know. You're just going to get hurt, and you're just going to end up hurting her too. Don't do this, stay in our world, and let her stay in hers." She begged, her lip slipping between her teeth in determination. "Mello, I can't live in our world forever. Look at me, I mean, I'm 18 years old and I've never had a girlfriend because I've been your cover. I want someone, Mello."  
Mello glared, anger renewed in her eyes, but even her anger was tinted with sorrow. "You know what Rod did to girls like her, Matty? You know what that motherfucker did to those little girls?"  
Matt blinked, confused at why she was suddenly bringing this up."What?"  
She gritted her teeth and looked him dead in the eyes, and raised her hand poised in a gun shape to his head, between his eyes. "Bang! Straight through the fucking middle… It just isn't worth it, Matt, she's not getting any better, and she never will. She's dead inside."  
"I believe she can." He said defensively, "I've seen some emotions slip through."  
"Rod made me fucking watch when he killed them, you know that Matt?" She spat bitterly, angry tears coating her cheeks," told me if I ended up like that, all emotionless, I'd go the same fucking way. Straight between the eyes."

As desperately as Matt wanted to hold her, to pull her against him and make her stop hurting, he knew he had to go through with this.  
"What do you want me to do, Mel? For starters, Rod was always a dick, you know that. Do you want me to stay this way, so I can never have a girlfriend and always be second to your boyfriends?"  
She'd slowly moved herself to be sitting on him, face to face during the argument, and now she used that to her advantage, using her hand to force him to look her in the eyes. It was almost too intense to look into her blue irises, filled with determination, sorrow, pain and a renewed passion that he hadn't seen in her for quite a while.  
"Be with me then, Matt! I'm alive! I'm here! I've always been here..!"  
She begged, and it took Matt a few moments to realise what she was saying, what she wanted. It was a moment he had thought of since he'd met her, and now… Did he really want it? The most beautiful, sexy, intelligent girl he'd ever met was throwing herself to him, wanting him. Asking him to have her, and not just as her best friend, but exclusively. And yet…  
"Mello, you know that won't work, and I don't want to ruin what we do have by taking it that way." He said, even though most of him entirely wanted to give into her there, he kept thinking of Near. Sweet, cute Near, who wouldn't play him around, or use him. Pale, porcelain Near, who was always honest with him, and didn't hurt him.  
"Aren't I fucking good enough for you anymore? Suddenly this fallen angel comes along, and you don't need or want me anymore? What the fuck does she have that I don't, Matt?"  
Mello raised her voice again, gripping onto his shirt hard. "She's fuckin' dead, Mail, and even when I see emotion in her, she isn't fuckin' there!"  
Mello's accent slipped back to how it had been when she'd first met him, something she tried as hard as she could to hide almost all of the time.  
He was angry at her, for being horrible about Near, for touching Near, for using his real name, for everything she'd ever done.  
"I see it! She's there! I know she is!" He yelled, calming almost immediately after he'd vented his anger, "I see it, and I see her..." He whispered quietly.

Floods of tears ran down Mello's cheeks, and anger flared in her eyes.  
"She's dead, Matt, whether you choose to see it or not. She's never there." Mello whispered icily, pushing herself off him and putting her shoes on. The defeat in her eyes was obvious, despite that he'd never seen her so crushed before. "Drive me home, Matt, I want to be alone tonight." She said, her face to the floor. His eyes were glazed over as he thought, 'what if she's right?' He felt himself giving in, Mello was never wrong after all and his brain was yelling at him to listen to Mello like always.  
"Tell me what to do." He said, his resolve crumbling as he stood up.  
Mello looked at him, and he'd never seen her so open before."Just take me home Matt, do whatever you want but I want to go home." She said pathetically, her usual fire completely lost. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand childishly, "I'm not going to stick around if you keep going after ice princess."  
Matt walked over to Mello and embraces her, "I'm sorry, Mello... You're probably right... I'll do whatever you want." He said and gently kissed her tears away, "you're always right, after all," his eyes held the same defeat hers did, both lost in themselves. "Near probably can't be fixed, although I like her. I doubt she can be fixed, just like you said." He whispered, holding the blonde close.  
"Don't leave me, Mello."  
She leans her face against his chest, crying softly against him and she clung to his shirt tightly again.  
"Take me to bed, Matt."  
She muttered faintly, sounding as though that really were the last thing she wanted, but that nothing else would do. Her hands slipping into his as a truce.  
He smiled, and lifted her into his arms easily. "Mello," he whispered, and kissed her delicately, as he carried her to his bedroom and kicked his bedroom door closed.


	4. Chapter 4

Well now here is another chapter from me and Misa (Chocolate-SugerCube) we will warn you that there is MAJOUR FLUFFYNESS in this chapter.

Disclaimer: We don't own death note T^T

Read enjoy and please please review.

* * *

**Stuck In The Middle With You**

Chapter 4

After all the drama of the weekend, it was Monday yet again and Matt walked though the long school corridors as the centre of attention for once. Mihael Keehl, aka Mello the hottest girl in school, clung to him lovingly. He felt his ego rise at all the girls watching him for once. Yet, he was here with Mello, not just like usual when she had a bad break up, but so all could see that she was his, and happy with that. Mello had assured him all weekend that she was his alone now and she'd be loyal to him. She'd been nothing but sweet all morning to him and even let him drive them both to school.  
"Matt, do we have class together this morning?" She asked in a sugared voice, looking up at him. He smiled at her new sweetness, and thought for a moment about today's timetable. "Yeah, we do. I'm sure we have Geography." He said, and she looked frowned.  
"Ugh, great. I hate geography!" She looked up at him again, widening her kohl-lined eyes, "you'll sit with me, right?"  
"You know I will," he said and kissed her forehead. Mello clung onto him happily and he enjoyed being the entire focus of her attention. The most definite improvement was her clothes; since she'd dressed more conservatively than he'd ever seen before, with black tights under her short skirt, and her shirt fully buttoned up.

"Hey, Matt?"  
She'd gotten his attention off her body, and back to her gorgeous face that was gazing affectionately up at him. "Yes, Mel?" He asked, looking down at her as she cuddled up to him. His chest swelled with pride, knowing she really was his. She leant up and kissed him quickly. She looked almost afraid to ask him something, which made him wonder, since Mello was never afraid of anything. Well, in Matt's lifetime, never… Unless it concerned the mafia she'd left so long ago.  
"Can I stay with you again tonight? It's just, well, my electricity got turned off, and I can't afford to get it back till next week." She said and bit her lip, frowning. She looked extremely upset and Matt smiled, trying to calm her.  
"You know you can stay with me as long as you want, Mel. You know I love having you round."  
Her smile returned, and she blushed slightly like she was getting courage to ask something. "Thank you... Also there's a movie I really want to watch tonight, maybe we could watch it together? Then you can play games, or something, and I'll tidy your tip of a house, like I've been saying I would do since forever?" She said hurriedly, and watched him carefully for his reaction.  
He grinned, wrapping his arms tighter around her, "that sounds perfect, I'll order take out since you know I can't cook for shit." He chuckled, it was entirely true that he couldn't cook. That's why he took cooking class here at school, with Mello. She shook her head, and looked into his eyes with determination "I'll cook if you want, baby. You know Sara made me help her all the time." She and Matt entered the classroom and sat down in two chairs at the back.

Matt grinned, childishly nodding in excitement. "Will you make that lasagne of yours? I love that." He gazed at her with his puppy eyes, which he knew she couldn't resist. He watched her as she giggled softly, and he smiled. Mello really was different when she was really his girl, not just pretending to be, she was much more affectionate, he thought as he got out his notepad and stationary for the lesson. She pulled out her own stationary from her bag, laying it out on the table. She opened her black, glittered notebook, and drew a line in it to make sure the pen was working. That pen always amused him, the way the feather on the top of it swished as she wrote. "Alright, I'll make lasagne." She said, looking up him again. "We can even eat it while you're gaming, if you want, and later, if you're not doing that too late into the night, we can have some fun together?" She asked, batting her eyelashes as she slipped her bottom lip between her teeth. He couldn't help but laugh lightly at her eagerness. "Honestly, Mel, aren't you tired since we did it all yesterday?" He asked, giving her a kiss on the forehead. It was true though, since their fight on Saturday night, they'd been physically quite inseparable, and had barely left his room all weekend. To say he was exhausted would be an understatement, making Mello happy had been worth it. She smiled softly, and leaned her head on his shoulder, moving her chair closer so she could lean against him.  
"Well, to tell you the truth, I am tired. You'd be up for it, though, right?" she asked sweetly.

He smirked at her and she smiled back, "Naturally, I'm always up for it." he wrapped his arm around her, and looked around the room. He spotted the white-haired girl walking into the room, 'Near...' He bit his lip and looked away. It was obvious Near had seen this, as she'd been looking at them, and she then sat by herself next to the door. He felt bad but he had to keep away from her, he wrapped his arms around Mello a little tighter and Mello cooed happily. 'I'm with Mello, stop thinking about Near.' He scolded himself and closed his eyes, resting his head on top of Mello's.

The lesson started, and everyone but Mello, who'd fallen asleep against Matt, was taking notes. He took his own notes and Mello's, to avoid Mello getting in trouble, because he knew she'd need rest for later. However, he was also thinking of Near, glancing up at the pale girl whenever he could. 'What the hell do I do? I'm with Mel, but Near in my mind… Still, it's like Mello said on Saturday, right? Near can't be fixed.'

Near caught him staring once, and held his gaze for a few moments. She looked as though she was searching for an answer, but she soon turned away to go back to her notes. Those eyes that held so much loneliness, in Matt's mind anyway. He wanted to help her, but he knew Mello was right. 'She's dead inside.' He broke out of his daze when he felt Mello twitching and shaking in her sleep. He turned his head just as she shot up, awake, her eyes wide and muttering something under her breath.

He tilted his head in confusion, "hey, you alright?" He asked, his eyes filled up with concern for her as he noticed she looked quite pale. She shook her head, and covered her mouth with her black nail-polished fingers. "I-I think I'm gonna puke." She whispered, her voice shaking. Matt's hand shot into the air, "yo, teach, I gotta get Mel out!" He shouts, but the teacher only looked annoyed at the fact he had interrupted the lesson as she turned and raised an eyebrow. "Why is that, Mr Jeevas?"

"She's gonna throw up everywhere." He said, and before the teacher could answer, he took Mello's hand and guided her out of class. He walked briskly down the halls with Mello following behind, still covering her mouth. He found the large disabled unisex toilet easily, and threw the door open, letting her in. He watched her run to the toilet and fall onto her knees, as he shut the door and followed her. He knelt beside her, and held back her hair for her as she threw up. She gripped his jeans, shaking, and he rubbed her back to comfort her as a few tears fell down her face. Matt grew worried about what could have upset her so much that she became physically ill. "Fuck," she swore, and spat into the toilet, trying to get the taste out of her mouth. He led her to the sink and she began to rinse her mouth. Matt flushed the toilet, and then returned to Mello's side.

"You ok, Mel?"  
"Just a really bad nightmare," He nodded, wiping the tears off of her shaking face.  
"Is it rod again?" He asked, already knowing that it was, and she just nodded. He sat down and pulled her quivering form into his lap. "He's gone, Mel. It's alright." He whispered softly into her ear, and stroked her hair lovingly. "Y-yeah but that don't change anythin' though. He made sure I wasn't gonna get out unharmed, though..." She muttered. He noticed her accent was slipping, and frowned, before forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Mihael, you listen to me. You're safe, and I'll protect you. Just like I always promised, you understand?" He said sternly. As much as he hated using her real name, he did when he needed to be entirely serious. She looked at him with tears in her eyes before clinging to him, whispering about people still after her. If Matt didn't know what she'd been through so well, he' d think her paranoid. "I won't let them hurt you, Mihael trust me." Matt said, and he held her as she began to shake again.

"I can't go back there, Matt. I can't, I don't want too." She cried and he stroked her hair again as she lay on him. He kept whispering words of comfort to the blonde, rocking her back and forth. He switched to humming softly to her, hoping it would calm her like it used to. He heard the school bell ring, signalling the end of the first lesson, and jumped slightly when the bathroom door opened a few moments later. He blushed, as he realised he'd forgotten to lock it. 'Damn it, I'm stupid.' He thought then he looked up, coming face to face with Near, holding their bags in her hand.

"Geography ended, and since Matt and Mello hadn't taken their bags, I thought it would be best to bring them to you. A student said you went in here." She said quietly, placing the bags on the floor next to them. Matt felt butterflies in his chest seeing the pale girl again, "thank you, Near." He muttered, blushing more, and turned back to Mello. She was eyeing Near with apparent loathing, though Near was immune to her stare. "Is Mello alright? Perhaps I should fetch the school nurse?" She asked, though in her emotionless tone, the question seemed almost mocking.

Matt shook his head, "no thank you, Near." He turned back to Mello, "reckon you can handle class, or should we ditch and I'll take you home?" he asked, affectionately stroking her pale face. Even with dried mascara and eyeliner tears down her face, he had to admit she still looked as beautiful as always. She clung to his jacket almost desperately, "Home, please?" She mumbled piteously, and he nodded as he lifted her up into his arms. "See you later, Near?" He asked, and Near nodded then bade them goodbye and wandered off up the halls. Matt shouldered his and Mello's bags then carried Mello to his car. "It's good you let me drive today." He whispered, and she gave him a weak smile.

He carried her into the house and laid her on the bed, as she'd fallen asleep in the car. "Here you go Mels," he whispered, tucking her in. 'Poor Mihael.' He stroked her hair affectionately, thinking how rare it was for Mello to let her past get her down, but it did happen and when it did the best way to cure her was cuddles and chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. He checked the fridge, and when he found none, he swore and ran his hand through his hair. Matt swore mentally, and looked to the bedroom. Mello would sleep easily for a few more hours, he thought, so he grabbed his car keys and drove to the corner shop. He bought an entire basket of chocolate, and some chocolate ice cream as an afterthought. He returned home, and went to his room to check on Mello after putting all his shopping away. She hadn't woke up, but she'd managed to cocoon herself in his bed sheets anyway, which he smiled at.

He sat on the sofa so he wasn't too far from her, flicking idly through a gaming magazine, when his mind returned to the albino back at school. 'Stop it,' he scolded himself. He jumped a little when he heard Mello's voice calling him sleepily. She was looking around for him, dazed, and she smiled when she saw him. "Can we watch that film now?" She asked quietly. He nodded and set the movie she wanted up, and got into the bed with her since the bed faced the TV. He propped up some pillows to lean on and allowed her to snuggle into his side. "Comfy?" He asked, and she moaned in contentment as she focused on the film.

"Thank you," she said softly, and matt smiled, muttering that it was no trouble. She cuddled up to him, burying her face into his chest but in a way that she could still see the film. He sat watching the film and twirling her hair around his fingers, and Mello clung to him through-out the whole movie. Halfway through it, she had wriggled up to be able to kiss him a few times, at a specifically blank part of the film. He'd returned her kisses and kept her in his arms, but he was angry with himself for still having Near in his mind. When she'd looked at him in the school earlier, when he'd turned away from her deliberately, her eyes had almost looked hurt. 'Leave me alone!' He internally screamed at the image of her in his mind.

When the movie finished, Mello straddled Matt's lap, kissing him deeply, "mmh, good movie, hm?" She asked as she smiled cutely. He looked up, returning her smile with his own. "Well, don't we recover fast?" He teased her, but she shook her head. "I'm just warming you up for later, besides you still want me to cook, right?" He nodded and Mello giggled happily as she got up and headed to the kitchen.

He followed her, deciding it was best to watch her and try to learn, rather than play games. "So, is it hard to make?" He asked as she began cooking. She easily found her way around his kitchen, since she'd cooked in it more than he had, really. She shook her head, and gave him another small smile. "It's easy when you know what you're doing." She said thoughtfully, and he nodded as he watched her every move and made mental notes.

She made the mix easily and put it in the oven, setting the timer correctly. "Why don't you go play a game, or something, and I'll tidy up like I said I would?" She asked. He smiled and walked to the fridge. He presented her with a bar of chocolate and she squeaked happily. She immediately opened it and began nibbling on the soft milk chocolate happily as it melted on her lips. "Thank you!" She squealed, and he kissed her softly.

"I'll help you tidy, and that's for making dinner." He said, holding her against him, though in all honesty he just wanted to spend time with her.

She giggled and shook her head, "silly Matt, I said I'd make it for you anyway. But if you want to help, you can do the dishes." She'd already started to clean up the kitchen counters. He happily started on the pots and pans she had used then got a childish idea. "Hey, Mello, come here a sec…"

Mello comes over to him, looking at him curiously, "what is it?" She asked, and he blew some soap bubbles onto her nose. "There." He exclaimed, and she giggled then sneezed cutely. He couldn't help but think how adorable she was, and he leant forward giving her a soft kiss. "Bless you." He said, and she smiled at him before dipping her fingers in the sink and placed bubbles on his head.

"There." she said vibrantly, mimicking him, and she squealed when he grabbed her and began tickling her. She managed to wriggle away, and took off into the living room with him in chase. He caught her easily and they both crashed onto the couch, with Mello on top of him, though he was in control. He ticked her ruthlessly as her giggles and squeals filled the house and his mind. He was glad as all of that removed Near from his head, even if it was only temporary.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author note: Chapter 5 is here! But that's not all people. I'm happy to announce that Misa (Chocolate_SugerCube) has released a side story to go with this about Near's past called Nymphet. Please please go read and review so we know what you think ^_^.**_

Disclaimer: We do not own death note (sadly)

Please read and review but most importantly, please enjoy.

(The beta has taken so long for multiple reasons, which if Onii will let me, also count for my story that I've promised to update sometime soon, that I've had a lot of relationship things to sort out, including recently becoming engaged, I've had my usual winter depressive bits that mean I don't even get out of my room most days recently, my internet and computer have broken variously at different times, etcetera, so that's why this update is particularly late, and I shall try to keep my editing on time from now on, and I'll try to update my own story, and Mello's sidestory sometime soon! Anyone with any particular ideas about what Mello's should include, review with it, and I'll see what I can do! –C_SC/Misa)

**Stuck In The Middle With You**

Chapter 5

Matt walked out the bathroom with towel round his waist, rubbing his hair dry with a towel, "So the plan is that you're staying home, right?" He directed the question to the blonde curled up in his bed-sheets. Mello rolled over on the bed to gaze up at him. She looked shattered, as she'd stayed up a lot of the night, too afraid to sleep. "Yeah, I mean, I don't want a repeat of yesterday."  
He smiled and placed the towel he had been using to dry his hair around his neck. "It's for the best really, I mean, think about it. We took off yesterday, so you might as well fake sick to make it look more convincing." He said, and leant over and kissed her cheek. "So just relax today, alright?"  
"Alright," She agreed, and then looked curious for a moment, before continuing, "Can we go out tonight?" He ponders for a moment, but decided it was best to stay home tonight. "We can stay in and order a take-out? After all, you've got to play "sick", and if we are caught out tonight then it'll raise questions." He softly stroked her hair, sitting next to her. "I'm doing this for your own good, Mel." He commented when she looked disappointed. He looked at the clock, noticing it was almost time to leave for school. Sighing at the prospect of a day without the voluble female, he gave her another kiss on her cheek, and whispered that he'd miss her. He stood up and let the towel around his waist to drop, and casually walked naked over to the dresser to find his clothing. Mello settled herself more comfortably in the large pillows, "I'm going to try to get some more sleep, okay?" She said quietly, and closed her eyes, pulling the blankets up around her more.

Matt walked back over to her after putting on his boxers and cheerfully nodded. "Alright, I'm going to school now." He sighed, thinking, 'what if I see near?' He asked himself. He shook his head, before smiling down at Mello. She opened her eyes to stare up at him with her big, blue eyes that sparkled with care. He smiled when she blew him a kiss, "see you later, Mel." he walked to his cupboard to get shirt and jeans on, "and remember, chocolate is in the fridge, and chocolate ice cream is in freezer. Don't open the door to anyone and, well you know the rest." He said, glancing around for his bag as he put on his jacket. "And if an old lady offers me an apple, I don't eat it right?" She teased, giggling. "You're so overprotective, Mattie."  
"Only because I have to be. I'd never let anyone hurt you." He said earnestly, as he shouldered his bag and put his goggles on. "I'll see you later." He glanced at her one last time and winked, before leaving the bungalow and walking over to his car. Hopping in, he took the long route to school so he could speed through the quiet roads to get the adrenaline rush he loved.  
He arrived at school, parking in a quiet spot and stepping out. He locked the door and rummaged in his bag for a cigarette. When he found one and had lit it, he took a long drag and leant on the car. He gazed around the school where people were gathering in small groups, girls giggling and boys kicking footballs or play fighting. 'Children,' He threw his cigarette butt down and was heading toward the main building when he spotted Near. He watched as she walked into the main building, but what struck him as odd was that she was being followed and called by the football captain, Joey, and his two others from the team. He frowned and headed towards them. 'Why would they want Near..?' He wondered as he turned the corner and froze in shock. Joey had a hold of Near rather roughly, pulling her by her shirt. "Hey, River, it's rude to ignore us." He said cockily, but typically, Near just stared back blankly.  
"I wasn't aware you actually wanted my attention, it seemed more like a pathetic attempt at irritating me."

Joey's smirk only increased, as did his grip. "Well, even if that's right, ignorin' us is rude, don't you know to listen to people better than you?" He said, pushing her against the locker, and Matt grimaced when the other two boys jeered. "You know, Near, we are the most popular boys in school," He boasted, patting her pale cheek with his calloused hand roughly, "maybe we could give you the tour." He leered, stroking down her neck with his hand. She didn't even flinch; she just stared back up at him emptily. "Fuckin' weirdo." He muttered quietly, and Matt had enough. "Hey! What's going on?" he yelled, and Joey let go of Near, aside from his grip on her shirt. Near didn't turn to face him, she just continued to look up at the boy holding onto her. Joey, however, glared at Matt. "What do you want, Jeevas? Can't you see we're talkin' to the little ice princess?" He asked mockingly, turning to face Matt and pulled Near around also, pressing her back against his chest. He gripped onto her waist and smirked at Matt, taunting him. His friends smirked cockily, the larger of the two other boys, George, formed a fist, and stepped forward menacingly. Near spoke up, in a quiet, almost defeated way that angered Matt, "Matt doesn't have to help me, I'm quite sure I will be fine." She then sighed and looked up at Joey. "If you could let me go, I'll stay here anyway. It's just that you're stretching my shirt and my grandfather wouldn't be happy about that." Joey looked at her, shocked that she was just so empty. Matt knew that Joey had done this before, and that most girls would be crying in fright by now. He looked to Matt's angry glare, then back to Near's empty stare, and then back to Matt. "Poor Mello, when she's not in, you chase River, yeah?" He smirked, making lewd gestures to his friends, "Well then, let me make that easier for you, catch." He sneered as he roughly pushed Near at Matt, who ran forward to catch her. Joey walked off laughing, his cronies behind him.  
"Are you alright?" He asked, helping her stand. She brushed him away, calmly composing herself and adjusting her shirt and bag. "I'm fine." He nodded slightly, jamming his hands into his pockets, 'oh lord, why did I have to touch her and get those sparks again?' "So long as you're okay," He said hurriedly, and ran off after muttering that he had P.E.

He changed quickly, running off ahead of his fellow classmates and jogged around the field, enjoying the wind in his hair. He spotted the girls class playing basketball, including Near clearly looking like she'd rather be anywhere else. He snuck up behind her and tapped her back, "what's wrong?" He asked. She span on her heel, looking at him with what should have been shock, but was instead her usual vacant gaze. "I dislike physical activity; I can't partake in much of it anyway. Because of an incident when I was younger, my body is not fully developed enough for sport."  
She said plainly, and Matt felt bad for her. He stood, thinking, for a moment before grinning. "I know what we can do," he said and grabbed her hand. "Come with me."  
She looked around the other students, then followed him as he had hold of her hand. They walked silently across the school field, ignoring stares from other classmates as he led her to a pond just off the school premises. "What do you think?" He asked, smiling at a family of ducks on the pond. "It's okay, it's a pond." She said, with the empty expression still on her face. He pouts and turned away. 'Typical.' He sighed, walking over to the small pier. He stood there, watching the mother duck check on her fuzzy ducklings. 'I do something nice, and she didn't even like it. I wanted to believe Mello was wrong but she was right, obviously. Why did I even bother?'  
"Thank you for helping me, Matt."  
Her clear voice cut through his thoughts, snapping him out of his daze.  
"Huh?"  
"I said, thank you for helping me earlier. Though, I'm still sure he wouldn't have done anything really." She said blankly, and he wondered if she really was as naïve as that statement seemed. "Oh, yeah, he really didn't do anything…" He bit his lip, glaring at the silent water of the pond for a few moments before sighing. "Don't ever trust them, alright, Near? They would do bad things to you- things I couldn't bear to see happen." He said as he turned and walked to her, catching her gaze. "I wouldn't, I don't trust anyone, but there isn't anything they can do that hasn't already been done." She said, almost sounding pained, or perhaps that was his imagination, but with that, reality of her earlier statement hit him.  
"Y-You're very brave, Near." He said, his voice catching as his mind flowed through the possibilities, cupping her face with his hands. He felt so confused, so lost. He wanted something, anything from her. He wanted to hold her, to tell her that everything would be okay, to make her alive. "Near, I..." He stopped, gazing into her those dark, dark eyes just upset him. He let go, slowly bringing his hands back to his side. "I guess, I'll see you later, Near." He said softly, his voice breaking a little as he fought the need to cry. He turned and walked away from her, feeling betrayed, like she'd let him down by being the way she was.  
He spent the rest of the day avoiding her, and the way she seemed confused when he'd so plainly walked away from her as she'd tried to approach him had made him wish he could just pull her against him, and hold her until everything felt okay.

He arrived home and threw his bag to the floor next to where he'd just taken off his boots. "Mello!" He called harshly as he slammed shut the front door. He looked around and sighed happily seeing everything was clean and spotless. 'She actually cleaned.' He chuckled, walking to the kitchen and digging through for a juice cartoon he liked. He shut the fridge door and was greeted by Mello dressed in only a black lace apron with a feather duster in her hand. "Hey, Matt," She smiled welcomingly, "Are you okay?"  
He looked her over and chuckled again, "Yeah, Mel, I'm- Hold it, are you naked under that?" He grinned. She nodded, twirling around to prove that. He grinned as he wrapped his arms around her and whispered huskily into her ear, "Very nice…"  
"You gonna reward me for cleaning up all this mess?" She whispered softly, pressing herself against him eagerly. He grinned as she did, lifting her up pushing her against the wall. "Well, now, Mello-yellow, what reward do you want?" He teased, smirking when she pouts at it, "Don't call me that, you know I hate it." she said as she leant up and kissed him hard, moaning into his mouth when he returned her kiss, throwing all his pent up stress into it. When he pulls away from kissing her, he attaches his lips to her neck quickly, nibbling at her skin and making her moan. "Mello," he purrs, biting into her neck harder. She moaned specifically louder and let her head tip back in rapture. She ground her hips against his in reply, as well as a softly pained hiss.

"You had a rough day?" she asked as she pressed harder against him, making him groan.

"You have no idea, Mel." He continued to leave marks down her neck, loving the sounds she made. Mello undid his trousers, brushing her hand over him through his boxers. "Play rough with me." She murmured, and he tilts his head, "you sure?" He asked, slipping his boxers down as Mello carefully slipped down through his arms to kneel on the floor. She looked up at him briefly and replied determinedly, "entirely sure." before taking his cock into her mouth and sucked expertly. "Jesus, Mello," he hissed and buried his fingers in her soft hair, and rocked his hips as she continued. She looked up at him, and the way her eyes almost looking innocent, despite what she was doing to him, made him swear loudly and his head fell back in pleasure. Mello pulled back, and when he looked down at her, she was smirking sensually up at him. She gave his tip a quick lick, before nodding toward the couch. "Shall we?" He laughed, lifting her up so she was standing with him. "But I thought you wanted it rough, Mel. I was gonna do you against the wall." He smirked when her eyes widened in what he assumed to be delight, and she purred softly bucking her hips into his. As he watched the blonde lick her lips in want, he thought to himself, 'minx.'  
He spun her around and bent her over against the wall, thrusting roughly inside her.

"How's this, Mel-Mel?" He asked her teasingly. Mello screamed happily as a reply, scratching her bitten nails down the wall. "Matt! God, yes!" He couldn't help, but to feel cocky and began to rock his hips. "You wanted it rough, Mello, so is this rough enough for you?" He whispered as he leant forward to lick the shell of her ear. She squealed, mewling under him. He arched over her to grab her wrists from against the wall, and pin them behind her. "You must like this, Mel. I mean, you're dripping wet." He hissed, and she cried out something he didn't understand, that he deemed unimportant as she bucked wildly against him. She groaned and pulled her hands from his, reaching back to tangle her fingers into his hair and pull him into a hard kiss. He returned the harsh kiss as he lifted her up, holding her in the air by her thighs still fucking her from behind. He loved to the adorable squeaks and mewls she made, loved the way she felt against him, around him. Even if this was just pure uncaring sex to them, that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy it. She cried out his name, her body rocking as she came hard, and the hand in his hair pulled just as hard, pulling his lips against hers. He groaned, and pushed her against the wall as he came inside her. He pulled away from her kiss, panting for air and slowly sunk on the ground. He pulled her off him and into his arms. "Damn…" He moaned, lying back and staring at the ceiling with a goofy smile on his face. He heard Mello giggle as she cuddled up to him; she asked if he was tired, to which he nodded in response. He chuckled when she ordered him to go to bed as she got up and she sauntered off, saying something about taking a shower. He could feel himself drifting off, with the stiff lounge carpet under him, Mello's sated voice in his ears, and the image of her smile in his mind.


	6. Chapter 6

(Again, you can blame me for the lateness, but it has been Christmas, I've been ill, and it's impossible to concentrate on this stuff while ill, though I'm trying. I've also been away and stuff, but that's just excuses. I'm sorry for my lateness, and hopefully this will be worth it! - Misa/C-Sc)

Disclaimer: we don't own death note because to be honest if we did i'd keep L to myself *insert evil laugh* =3

Read, enjoy and please review xxx

Love Rachel and Misa

Stuck In The Middle With You

As Matt walked to English, he thought of Mello still at home again, this time because she was aching far too much. Matt chuckled to himself as he sat down in his seat and leant back casually. 'So maybe I was a little rough on her, but what does she expect? She was practically asking for it.' He sat in his own thoughts until he was suddenly shaken out of them by Near sitting down beside him, in what was usually Mello's seat. "Uh… Hey, Near…" He muttered as he glanced her over. He had to admit, she looked wonderful today. "Hello Matt," She said softly, monotonously. "I didn't realise you would talk to me. I had to sit here because my seat is taken." She nodded in the direction of her usual desk, to prove that it was indeed taken, as she placed her stationary on the desk in the same perfect way as every time he'd seen her lay it out before. He swallowed hard, and cleared his throat before speaking, and she cocked her head up to look at him when he did. "Why wouldn't I talk to you?"  
"Well, mostly because you have been deliberately ignoring me recently." She said, and despite her obvious lack of care for the subject, he felt bad. "It isn't my fault…" He mumbled nervously, twirling his pen and glancing up at the teacher as she began to talk.  
"If Matt doesn't mind, I'd like to concentrate on class." She said, and turned away to begin taking notes. He rolled his eyes, cursing her for sitting where she had- although, looking around, there was no where else for her to sit, so it wasn't as if she'd purposely sat there to annoy him. The lesson went smoothly aside from a few people messing around. For once, Matt didn't feel much like making a nuisance of himself. Near constantly corrected the teacher, causing the teacher to become more and more irritated and ended the lesson early, to everyone's amusement, and Near's barely-visible bewilderment. Matt was among the first to leave, heading to the bathroom. "Near-" He sighed as he washed his hands. Was he really not good enough for her? He thought as he tidied himself up in the mirror, wondering why he cared so much when he had Mello now. He headed to the changing room lockers, hoping to skip the next lessons to give himself time to think. Usually he'd come here to play games or spend time with Mello while skipping classes.

He spotted a light on in one of the shower rooms and walked over to check it out. Perhaps he'd find some younger students trying to get together between class, like he and Mello had done before. He tried the handle, finding it locked, he slowly formed a grin, assuming his thoughts before true. His grin dropped as he looked through the small window in the top of the door and saw Near on her knees surrounded by a group of five, maybe six, boys, all smirking. Matt felt a growl in his throat when he saw Joey, and recognised most of the boys from his year, 'him again, oh Near, you idiot.' He watched as Joey said something to Near and she shook her head. He dug his fingers into her hair, pulling her head back sharply, and she lifted her top up awkwardly, though, an awkwardness down to inexperience, not shame. Matt reached into his bag for the pistol he always kept hidden there when Mello wasn't around, and grabbed a set of Mello's hair pins he used for lock-picking out of his bag also. He glanced at the window again, seeing Near shake her head again, and Joey pull out a knife. She takes off the white T-shirt and drops it aside, in a way that would almost suggest her boredom with the entire situation. Despite that, Matt couldn't imagine her being anything other than terrified.  
'I can't let her get hurt!' He thought defiantly, a few moments later, he finished with the lock, and slammed open the door. "Let her go, Joey!" He yelled.  
Joey laughed, glancing up at the other male. "Oh, come on Matt. Why don't you come in and have some fun? Near just offered to entertain us," he said as he jauntily gestured for Matt to join him.

Matt glared at him, flicking the safety off. "Get out, all of you." He ordered coldly. "Near, come here." He barked, annoyed at her for being so clueless he told her not to trust them. The gun glistened menacingly in the dim light, and some of the younger boys in the group followed his order and quickly left the room. Joey seemed to be calm, putting his hands into his jacket pocket casually and continuing to smirk confidently over the situation. "She's not going anywhere, Jeevas, now why don't you join us?"  
"Like hell, you seem to forget I'm the one with the gun. Near, get up!" He snapped at her, pointing the gun at the boy. Matt came to the conclusion Joey thought the gun was fake as he was the only one left the rest had run away. Joey grabbed the pale girl by the hair again, bringing a nailgun out of his pocket placing it against Near's throat. "Well, isn't this nice?" He smiled cheerfully. Matt growled, and Near looked at him at last. "Matt should leave now, it'd be better for us both. As much as I don't particularly mind dying, this method is quite painful." She said as tonelessly as ever but her skin had paled even more with the introduction of the second weapon. Joey grinned at Matt, "See, Matt? She gets it." Joey said, stroking Near's cheek.  
"I'm not leaving her." Matt raised the gun, pulling the trigger as he did so and pierced Joey's hand, causing him to drop the nail gun. Matt ran forward as Joey took off, swearing and cursing as he did, from Near and pressed her behind him. He felt pride swell in his chest for saving her, and he glanced around for Joey. Matt sighed and turned to Near as he realised Joey had left. He gently tapped her on the head and glanced down at her. "You could have been hurt, Near, did you want that?" He asked, his annoyance at her for getting in this situation returning.

She looked annoyed for a moment, "Matt assumes I wanted to be in this situation, while I may not be socialized as much as him, I do have common sense, and I was forced into coming here, and I was getting myself out of here as Matt arrived. The nail gun was specifically modified as a projectile weapon and would have been able to go through the jacket and he would have shot one of us if we were to become distracted for even a moment. Matt almost shot me while aiming for Joey, and had Joey had his finger on the trigger when you shot him, his hand would have compressed it anyway, and killed me." She returned to her expressionless mask as Matt handed her the shirt she'd been wearing earlier, then promptly was gathered into his arms before she was able to put it on. "I can't let anything happen to you." He said irritated, letting go of her so she could change, instead she looked up at him and shocked him by leaning into his chest, "Matt is angry with me?"  
"Wha- No! I'm not, I'm angry with myself." He said, frowning at the ground. He froze in shock when he found himself staring into Near's dark eyes, with her lips pressed hard against his. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He could tell she was inexperienced, but as she pulls his hand on to her chest, his thoughts reeled. He pulled away, confused at her actions. "What are you doing, Near?" She was flushed, and she looked confused as well, her eyes clouded with something he didn't understand. "Matt, please?" She begged. He paled, trying to think clearly. Did she like him or not? He smiled and pulled her over to the table in the gym room behind them, pulling her onto it.

"Are you sure?" He muttered against her neck, she nodded and he smiled, pressing his lips against her neck. She mewled, and wrapped her arms around his neck again pulling him down onto her further. He smirked at how eager she was and he was happy to satisfy her. He knew it was wrong, but his attraction to Near had taken control of him. 'Mello, I'm sorry,' he thought as he raised his head to kiss Near. She made quiet moans, and arched herself against him, urging him into her, to take her. He ignored that her movements are a little too stiff and purposeful; a little too practiced and thought-through. He pulled away from the kiss they were sharing, going back down to nipping her neck. "Near," he sighed and raised his hands to awkwardly and excitedly groping at her. She leant her head back when he did, giving him better access to her white neck. "Please, Matt?" She whimpered, and presses her hips against his again. He looked up at her flushed face and hoped against hope that she was asking what he hoped she was, "what is it Near?" She flushed more under his gaze, and her eyes were half-shut. "Please, I want you." She begged again as she brought one hand up to become tangled in her hair. He grabbed at her, panting against her skin, "You do?" She slipped off her underwear from under her skirt, and pressed her hand against his crotch. "Please?"  
He nodded at her reply; "alright," He fumbled eagerly, removing his pants and boxers just enough for his length to be out. He kissed her neck again, and positioned himself.

"You ready?"  
She nodded, biting her lip as she watched him hazily. He entered her slowly, being scared that he'd break her as she felt and looked so delicate. She moaned and the hand in her hair clenched over her white locks. Her head tipped back again as he returned his attention to her chest. "Let me know if I'm hurting you, I'll slow down." He said, nibbling the shell of her ear. "You won't." She whispered back, tipping her hips up for him to go deeper into her. He nodded, and once fully inside, he kissed her forehead and held her against him. "Oh, Near, you feel so good," He muttered, rocking against her.  
"Perhaps Matt wouldn't mind moving himself properly?" She asked casually and he laughed breathily, "Sorry, I was just worried I'd hurt you." He loved the way her noises were so much different to Mello's, he thought briefly before she mewed louder as he moved a particular way. He groaned, feeling her tighten around him as he tried to focus on doing that again, deciding that if it would make her make that noise again, it would be worth the focus. She purred happily, arching her back up again and pulling him into another inexperienced kiss. Matt felt her shake underneath him as the feeling of her overwhelmed him and he thrust faster into her, losing all control outside of making her feel, making her his.  
"Near-"  
He gasped against her skin as he felt her convulse and with a particularly hard thrust, he gave into her, and she cried out fully for the first time in their entire time together as he came into her.

After a few moments, his mind cleared and he saw her watching him with her usual blank stare. "Did you enjoy that, Matt?" He nodded, stroking her downy hair, "what about you?" He asked after leaning down and kissing her forehead, she shifted under him. He stepped away from the table, and she pulled her clothes on quickly. "I suppose," he tilted his head, "what do you mean by that?"  
He let go of her, fixing his clothing.  
"Near?"  
The bell rung to signify the next lesson and she turned to him after taking her bag from the floor. "It seems we've missed a lesson, I hope the teachers will not be too bothered by that," She trailed off, seeming more perturbed than she had all morning. He ran to her and grabbed her wrist as she began to leave, "hold it, Near, we've got to talk about this. What does this make us?"  
His thoughts flashed as Near stared at him, then she pulled her hand free and smiled in a way that made him chill. "This makes us nothing at all. I said thank you, didn't I?" She said, and walked away. This time, Matt only watched as she left, frozen in place by her words. "Did... did I just get used?" He thought, dazed.

Over the next two weeks, things continued shockingly normally in his life. Mello continued to be with him, Near ignored him unless he sought otherwise from her. Mello kept him busy at school, and at home, which she'd mostly moved into now, without asking permission, he added as an afterthought. If Mello knew what him and Near had done, she hadn't said anything about it, and probably wasn't going to anymore. He supposed it would be most men's success story, to fuck the sexy stranger, and still have the girl he'd been after forever… It didn't feel like all that much of an achievement though really. Near had been his for a brief time, and now she would never be his again.  
True, having Mello every night was good, and she kept his house decently tidy, and either made him food or ordered it for him, but she wasn't like Near. She was rough, untameable, and fiery, like she'd always been. Mello was the silky sand on the beach that burned and scratched as soon as you were around it, and Near, the bitter ocean, calm and cool, and just so desirable after the heat of the land.  
He was shaken out of his thoughts by Mello debonairly stepping into the room, her black dress twirling around her thighs as she did. "What do you think?" She asked, spinning on her black high heels. He grinned and let out a low whistle as he walked over to her. "You look beautiful Mels," He pulled her against him, his hand slipping up her thigh, pushing up the smooth material of her dress. "The car battery's dead, we'll have to walk. Is that's ok with you?" He whispered, and she shrugged, brushing him off to take her bag from on the bed. "Sure, I'll just put my heels in my bag, and changed into them when we get there. It's only a 10 minute walk anyway." She kissed him lightly and went into the other room to change her shoes.

A few minutes later, he and Mello were leaving the house together. He smiled as he locked the door behind them and let Mello cling onto his arm. She started to tell him something as she pulled him along the street, not minding if he listened or not. He tuned out of her voice as soon as he was sure she wouldn't mind, and looked up to the darkening sky, his mind drifting back to the past week, past two weeks, Near. However, the peace was short lived as a car rushed past them, then all noise seemed to collide. Gunshots, the car's wheels squealing, Mello screaming. Somehow he'd ended up on the pavement with Mello kneeled beside him, and the quiet street filled with voices; questions, shouting, crying, and Mello, Mello over everything.  
"Shhh, Matt, help will be here soon." She stroked his hair lovingly, trying to keep the both of them calm. He gazed up at her wide, worried eyes, and panic suddenly hit him. If something happened to him, who would protect Mello? Who would make her safe? Who would love her, and care about her? "Mello, please, go back to my bungalow- you'll be safe there. Please Mel." He said and fumbled for his car keys to give her. She laid him back, stroking him and holding him to her. "Matt, we'll both go to the hospital in a moment. You'll be okay, don't panic." She gripped his hand tightly, whispering to him over and over. He nodded weakly, cuddling into her warmth, "I'm tired, Mel," he muttered into her lap. The paramedics arrived in a flurry of lights and sounds, and he pressed more into Mello to avoid it, before she was pulled away and the only thing he knew of her was her loudly and defiantly demanding that she had to be taken with him to the hospital. As he was put into the ambulance with Mello beside him, the noise, lights, action, everything around him, became a lot less important, and he gave into the sleep that he needed so much.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm sorry all. My life got all complicated and I just didn't have the motivation for this story, but here's the long awaited chapter. You may throw rotten fruit at me at will. – Chocolate-Sugarcube**

**Rachel: Aww :3 we all love mimi anyway :D anyway heres the chapter we owe you all lol. please leave a review... also i will warn this contains heavy gore X.X misa wrote it not me.**

Matt's mind eventually cleared, and he opened his eyes to the dim light of a streetlamp outside his window.  
He groaned from the pain in his head and tried to raise his hand to it, then realised that his entire body felt numb and heavy. He glared at the light coming through the window, 'Damn it, Mello, did you have to leave me curtains open?' He cursed mentally. After a few attempts, he reached up to rub his eyes with the back of his hand. , briefly panicking when he didn't recognise the room. Upon looking around, he realised that the room was in a hospital, and, after a moment of panicking, that Mello was at the window with her back to him. He smiled, relieved that she was safe. He managed eventually managed to salivate enough to call her name, though his voice sounded weak and strained. She let out a gasp as she turned to him, her eyes lit up at his voice. She quickly walked to him, and gently flung her arms around him, kissing his cheeks and forehead delightedly as she gushed relieved words. "Matt! You're okay, I'm so happy! I was worried about you." She sat on the side of the bed, her arms still around him, and she gazed up at him, almost fearful.  
"I was scared you'd leave me here…"  
Matt chuckled then winced at the pain in his chest. "I'd never leave you, you know that." He tentatively wrapped a weak arm around her, "Mel, what exactly happened to me?"  
She paled, then opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, then began to speak. "Well, you know about Rod and everything right?" She spoke nervously, and glanced at him, then took a sudden interest in the white bed cover.  
"S-Since what happened to Rod, you know they've been trying to track me down…"  
Matt nodded and held her tighter, his strength returning now he was awake.  
"I think t-they were aiming for me and things d-didn't go all too w-well."  
Her voice shook and tears wetted her sooty eyelashes.. "I-I'm sorry, Mattie!"  
She cried out tearfully. Matt smiled, wiping her wet mascara-laden tears with the corner of the bed cover. She was always so sweet; even if someone was trying to kill her, she was more concerned about him than herself.  
"Hey, I always did say I'd protect you forever, so I guess taking a bullet for you comes under that category!" He grinned childishly. Mello slowly returned his grin with a small smile, "I'm still sorry…" she mumbled.

"I'm okay, Mel, see?" He smiled, then coughed and winced again at the pain. "Uh, almost anyway." He muttered, and then smiled brightly, "so how long have I been out for?"  
She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and then sighed. "Only several hours, it's 3am. They checked you over and operated, then you were asleep for about five hours."  
He sat quietly for a moment pensively then grinned up at her, suddenly enthralled. "Do I have a scar?"  
She frowned at him, "and I thought you were actually going to say something serious. I don't know, I've kind of been busy worrying that you might die!"  
He raised an eyebrow, teasing her. "But don't you spend like ninety percent of your life checking me out?"  
She groaned indignantly, "You're so stupid sometimes, Matt. I've been here since seven because I was scared you'd die and now you're being mean to me."  
He smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist, affectionately nuzzling her. "I'm glad you're okay." Mello sighed and resigned herself to his childishness. She kissed his forehead and stroked her hand through his hair for a few moments. "Well, the doctor said you can leave here in the morning, so if you don't need me, I think I'll go home for a few hours for sleep and some food, and I'll even bring you a new shirt when I come back."  
She stood up from the bed, and then picked up her bag and shouldered it. Matt nodded, but muttered that he wanted to keep her safe. She turned back to him and smiled, "but you need to get some sleep, and I'd just prevent you from getting that." She kissed him chastely as she left.  
He laid back and stared around empty the room, smirking to himself as he wondered if he'd have scars to show off at school.

He wasn't alone for long, however, as a young-looking nurse walked in, distracting him from counting the tacky, greying flowers on the one papered wall. She smiled at him as she glanced down at her clipboard as she sat down on the chair beside the bed. "Okay, Mr Jeevas, I'm going to do a few things then I'll let you get some more sleep. I just need to take your blood pressure, check those stitches of yours, and then see if you need any more medication." He smiled back faintly, though her constant smile annoyed him. "So, which would you like to do first?" She asked, and he only shrugged then held out his arm for her to test his blood pressure. He looked out at the stars, and wondered about Near. He wondered if she cared how he was, or even if she knew what was happening. He couldn't believe how she'd used him, and then abandoned him. After the nurse finished tasting, she took a few notes, then smiled to him again. "I'd like to see your chest now, okay?"  
He gave her a charmingly goofy smile, "you can see anything you want." He winked teasingly, and she giggled. He lifted his shirt, and the nurse gently examined the wound. "The stitches have taken well, and there's no infection, so it will heal quickly, but you'll have a scar there." She got a stethoscope out, and pressed it against his chest, "take a deep breath, please." He shivered at the cold metal, but did as she asked. After a few breaths, she put the stethoscope away, and made another note on her clipboard. "Good, thank you. Do you need any more pain medicine?" He grinned and nodded, "finally, dope me up nurse!"  
After giving him the medicine, she got up to leave. "Hey, nurse, did I get any other visitors?"  
The nurse thought for a moment, "oh yes, a young girl who fell asleep in the waiting room. She looked so exhausted that we thought we'd leave her until you were available. I'll send her up when I finish my rounds." She said with another smile then left him alone to wonder. For the next half an hour, he went through all the girls he thought might visit him. Mika, who was always trying to flirt with him, Rani, who he sometimes gamed with, Mello's friend Lana who hung out with them sometimes, Nessy, who sat next to him in quite a few classes…

Then, there was a knock on the door, and Near tentatively stepped into the room, and shut it behind her.  
"Hello, Matt." He blushed deeply,and looked at the horrible wallpaper again, "Near! What're you doing here?"  
He looked up at the grey-eyed girl that had haunted his mind since he'd met her, that had used him, hurt him, and then simply walked away. She sat in the chair, bending one leg against her chest, slipping off the shoe from that foot, and raising her hand to twirl her downy hair between her fingers.  
"Just because Matt is ignoring me, that isn't a reason that I shouldn't check he's okay, and I brought something to make him feel better."  
She pulled out a handheld consol from her gray coat's pocket, "I doubted you'd have one of these, and I didn't think Matt would be able to sleep. I also find it difficult to sleep in these kinds of situations."  
He looked at the consol, then back up at her in her faded, very loose jeans, and quilted coat. "You didn't have to," he said after she'd handed it to him. He smiled to her, "thanks. I wasn't avoiding you, I swear, I was just…" His voice trailed off as he realised he didn't know what to tell her. "Matt is avoiding me because he's with Mello. I've been avoiding Matt a little also."  
He looked at her then to the game. "You didn't have to" he said as she handed it to him. "Thank you near." He smiled and blushed again. "I wasn't avoiding you I swear I was just." He stopped he couldn't tell her what he felt.  
"Matt was avoiding me because he's with Mello. I have been avoiding Matt a bit also." She stood and began to walk to the door, "well, since Matt doesn't want to talk to me at the moment, I should go."  
"No!" He cried out, suddenly sitting up despite the pain in his chest. He winced as pain shot through him, but looked up at her. "Near, wait, please."  
Near turned back to him curiously, and wrapped her coat tighter around herself. "What more does Matt want?"

"I want you." He felt pathetic as he laid back and gazed up at her. He couldn't help how he needed her, "I want to see you smile, cry, everything." He reached out to her, silently begging her to stay. "Matt is with Mello." She said simply, opening the door. "Near, please!" He pleased, "please, don't leave."  
"What does Matt want? There's school in only a few hours."  
He looked deep into her near-dead eyes, "Near, just kiss me once more, please?" She thought for a moment, and softly said, "if Matt wants," before leaning down and stiffly pressing her lips to his. He pulled her closer with a hand in her hair, returning her kiss with vigour. When she stood back up, he kept his grasp in her hair. "Near, I need you, I-I love you." She just stared down at him and turned away to walk to the door. "Is that it, Matt?" He shook his head, exasperated. "I almost died, and all I wanted was to be able to tell you that. Yes, that's it."  
Near nodded then went to leave, but turned her head back to look at him. "Perhaps, Matt should tell Mello this before telling me." She said, returning his stunned look with a blank stare.  
"Y-you mean, when I'm not with Mello…" Near played with a strand of her hair as she turned away, "perhaps after Matt tells Mello," She said and left without another word.  
He watched her leave with his heart fluttering.  
"Perhaps after I…" He smiled at the door she'd just left through. If he could only be free of Mello's controlling relationship, he would be able to be with the girl of his dreams.

After several hours passed of playing the game Near had given him, there was another knock on the door. Matt looked up at Mello as she sauntered in and threw a T-shirt at him.  
"Hey, they said you can leave whenever you're ready, so hurry up and let's go."  
He smiled at her and pulled on the shirt. "Okay, let's get out of here."  
She returned his smile and wrapped her arm around him gently when he'd stood up. Matt was glad it didn't hurt as much as it did last time she'd visited, "whenever you're ready then." He nodded and took an unsteady step and almost fell back onto the bed, but Mello steadied him and kissed his cheek softly. "Mel, I-I gotta talk to you."  
Mello glanced at him, then nodded, "Okay, but let's get you home first. I made you breakfast, and if we don't get home soon, it'll get cold."  
He smiled a little, and nodded.  
Once they'd got home, with him occasionally stumbling, and her supporting him caringly, she sat him down into the battered lounge chair, and he sighed, closing his eyes, he groaned. "Man, I feel completely drained."  
Mello handed him a plate of food, and sat on to coffee table, crossing her knees and smiling at him. She was truly beautiful, but he was in love with Near. "So, Mattie," She said and flicked her blonde hair out of her face, "What did you want to tell me, hm?" He placed the plate down and bit his lip. "M-Mello, I don't know how to tell you this." He paused and looked up into her cerulean eyes. "I think I'm in love with Near." He muttered, shutting his eyes and waiting for the almost inevitable slap. He heard her drop her glass, "N-Near?" He refused to open his eyes, but nodded, "I think I've loved her since I met her."

After a few moments, he timidly opened his eyes to see Mello's face almost blank, but her eyes had lost the spark they'd held only a moment before. "I-… okay."  
She stuttered, staring at the broken glass on the floor, and the liquid from it seeping through the carpet. "I'm sorry, Mel. I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen, and well, now, things have changed. "  
Mello stood up, and walked into the next room. Matt just sat and waited, not sure what would happen next. A few minutes later, she returned with a bag. "I'm going home. We can talk about this tomorrow."  
She said quietly, her face still almost entirely clear of emotion, closer to Near's than her own usually impulsively superfluously changing expressions. He walked to her, grabbing her arm to stop her, "wait, Mello. You can't go home, it's dangerous, you know that. Please, you're my friend, I can't let you do that."  
She shook him off easily, "I'm going home now."  
He sank down onto the chair again, throwing his head back in despair at what had happened. "What have I done? What do I do now?" He muttered to himself, should he go crawling back to Mello again? No, he couldn't do that again, he was free now. Near, he should call her, right?  
He decided to go outside for a walk to vent his frustration. After he locked the door, he turned to his car, forgetting for a moment that it hadn't worked, walked to it and sat down. He then remembered that it hadn't been working, but decided to try the key anyway. The car stuttered, and then coughed into life. "Son of a-!" He shouted, nearly punching the car, then deciding that if it worked, he may as well keep it working.

He drove to the address Near had told him she lived at before, hoping she hadn't lied to him, and banged on the front door. After a few minutes, a dishevelled Near answered the door in a white dressing gown. She looked stunned for a moment then her expression cooled, "Matt?"  
"Hey snowflake," he leant casually on the doorframe, trying to disguise the pain in his chest from merely standing.  
"What is matt doing at my door?" She curled her fingers around her hair and looked up at him curiously. "I came to see you, Near, or is that not allowed?"  
He pouted playfully, teasing her. She stepped aside out of the doorway silently, offering him entrance to the house. "Nice place!" He whistled and glanced back at Near, who nodded in acknowledgement.  
"Thank you. It's my grandfather's, though he's out right now." She led him into a lounge with walls full of pictures, certificates, trophies, and other various decor. "Would matt like to sit down?" She asked, gazing at him with her doe-eyes. He turned and wrapped his arms around her tightly, "I did it Near... I really did it!" He nuzzled her neck lovingly but Near tilted her head away. She looked faintly surprised, "Matt is no longer with Mello?"  
"That's right," he whispered, stroking her cheek lovingly and she leant slightly into his hand, looking up at him with curious eyes.  
"I see," she pulled away and sat down, gesturing for him to sit with her. "Why does Matt want to be with me so much?" She twisted her hair around her fingers, "you're beautiful, charming and smart. You attract my attention in a way no one ever has." He said, stroking her hair again. Keeping his hands off her was too much of a challenge right now.  
"But Matt doesn't know anything about me, does he?"  
Matt smirked and prepared to prove her wrong. "You are smart, you keep to yourself if possible, and you like video games- especially the ones we played at my house when you stayed over. You like toys, and simple things make you bored easily, you like things that make you think." He recited everything he'd learnt about her so far, not quite realising how little that was until he said it, and decided to say another thing to finish off the list, "and when I look at you, I see an angel." He didn't care how cheesy it sounded, he needed to prove to her how much he loved her. Near sighed softly and stood, removing her hand from his, "I'm going to make some tea." She looked at him blankly for a few moments, before asking him if he wanted a drink. He shook his head and looked at her confused, of all the things to ask, why this? "Did I do something wrong?"  
"No, but the water in the kettle will be cold if I don't use it soon." She said as she glided out of the room gracefully. Matt watched, smiling and studying the decoration on the walls. "I told her, but will she take me?"  
He turned his head when Near returned with a teacup and sat beside him, placing the cup down on the side table next to her. Matt's arms rested on the back of the sofa, and he urged to wrap it around her. "So, what do you think, Near?"  
"Well, I suppose I do need to tell Matt something." She muttered, looking even paler than she usually did.  
"What is it?" He smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner then jumping, ruining the moment, when his phone buzzed.

"Just a text, hold on a moment." He took his phone out and glanced at it, the text was from Mello so he naturally opened it. **"Matt. sorry 4 what happened, u've been a super friend to me... thnx 4 everything"  
**He bit his lip in thought, did this mean Mello no longer wanted to be friends? He sighed and brushed it off, looking at Near again. "So what did you want to tell me?"**  
**"Is that anything important?" She gestured to his phone. **  
**"I guess Mello doesn't want to be my friend anymore." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. The text was annoying him, why was Mello suddenly closing off? He mentally slapped himself. He did dump her after all. He got up abruptly, deciding to go talk to Mello, something just didn't feel right. "I've got to go see Mello, I've got a bad feeling about this text. Come with me?"**  
**Near stood up to join him then glanced at her attire. "I think I should dress first. Perhaps if Matt goes ahead, I'll meet him there?"**  
**Matt nodded, kissing her cheek before leaving and driving to Mello's. "Please don't have done anything stupid Mel," He thought as he skipped through two red lights. He reached her apartment complex and ran up the stairs at a speed that even surprised ran to her door, hammering on it. "Miheal Kheel! Open up right now!" He yelled. He heard a crash inside the house and he panicked, "Mello! I swear to God- He yelled again, banging harder, until the door suddenly opened andMello stood in the doorway "M-Matt?"**  
**He folded his arms, "What the hell was that text about, huh? You had me worried sick!"**  
**It was obvious to him she'd been crying a lot, her makeup had run and her hair was a mess, probably from her tantrums where she'd tugged on it. "Why don't you come in and we'll talk?"  
He stepped inside when she let him and she led him to her room. "So did you tell her yet?" He nodded his head and she sighed, "oh, I'll make this quick then, shall I?" She said and pointed to the bed. "Sit!"**  
**He sat down and she folded her arms. "Do you have anything with you Matt?"**  
**He emptied his pockets onto the bed, "Just my phone- Oh, and uh," He paused and pulled an unused condom out his pocket. "This. Why?"**  
**Mello shrugged, "just wondering." She said, walking to her desk. "So where's Princess Near?"  
She sneered, mocking the other female. "She's following me from behind, she'll be her soon, but this isn't about her. Do you not want to be friends anymore?"  
She gazed at him with a sadistic grin, "well Mattie, there is one way we can be friends. You love me right Mattie? We're friends... Best friends, right?"  
He nodded, "Yes, we are best friends."

She smirked and opened the desk draw, bringing out her prized sawn off shotgun. "We could be best friends forever, Mattie." She lay down next to him, fluttering her long eyelashes. "So what's your choice?"  
He paled and stood up, backing away from her. "Mello, are you fucking kidding me?"  
"C'mon Mattie, you and me, best friends forever! You can use mine since you left yours at home."  
"What do you want me to do? Shoot you then myself?" He asked, growing angry. What the hell was going on in her mind?  
"Not exactly," she grinned and pressed the gun to her throat, the barrel of it between her breasts in a mock parody of a much different act. "I can do myself, then you follow, that's fair right?"  
"What? This is- Mello! You're psychotic!" He backed away then jumped when he heard the front door. 'Oh no, Near.' He thought.  
"Oh! That's your new friend, right.? She stood up, grinning and holding the shotgun behind her back. She swung to door open, and Near stood calmly in a white dress. Matt tried to make eye contact with her, mouthing 'run' but she barely glanced at him, instead she smirked at the other women and Mello glared her down.  
"You're evidently feeling better, Mello." Near said calmly as Mello grabbed her arm and pulled her into the flat. Matt grabbed Near, holding her behind him protectively. "Mello! This is idiotic, let us both go."  
A shock coursed through him when Near pulled away from Matt, giving him a cold stare. "What does Matt want? Mello and I are talking."  
He froze, was Near in on this? "What? Near, I don't- You- you're both in on this?"  
Mello smirked as Near sighed, "Matt, we can talk later. So, Mello, what's going on?" She sat down on the bed perfectly and casually poised, looking mockingly up at Mello. By this point, Matt had simply sunk back against the wall, in pain, exhausted and confused. "So, what do you say Near? Care to join us?" She pointed the gun at her own throat again.

Near smiled daringly, "You do it, Mello, go on." She gestured to the shotgun, ignoring Matt's protests of this being crazy and for Mello to put the gun down. Matt noticed Mello growing angry, her eyes narrowed and her teeth bared, " Both of you! Shut the fuck up! If you either say one more fucking word, I'm going to blow your damn heads off!" She yelled, flicking the gun between them both, gritting her bared teeth in anger. She put two fingers into her mouth, biting down until Matt swore he could see blood. She released them, wiping blood and spit across her jeans, then began to smirk again.  
Near stood calmly, "Why don't you do yours, Mello? Then we can take turns at Russian roulette afterwards." She stood and walked to Mello. She glared at Near and pointed the gun at the other girl's head. Near smiled at Mello and covered Mello's trigger hand with her own when she was close enough. "If you really want to shoot me, go ahead." Near raised her eyebrows, Matt's heart was jumping in his chest. Near couldn't die, not now. Mello glared and slapped Near, cocking the gun. "Shut up Near, you arrogant, soulless, worthless little fucking bitch." She hissed and slapped Near again.  
Near smirked again, almost scarily, "so, Mello, how many of those adjectives count for you too?" She curled her hand into her own hair; her smirk was a rare sight that scared Matt, she looked as mad as Mello. Mello was shocked, opening her mouth to make a comeback but growled instead, "I hate you."  
"The feeling is quite mutual. Now are you doing this or are we wasting our time here? If we are, I would like to leave, as Matt and I need to talk," Near said in her monotone voice.  
Mello smirked and sauntered over to Matt. "Over me already, Mattie? Already moving onto the child-whore?" Near's face was pained for a moment, but she quickly covered it, though Mello had already picked up on the change. "Oh yes, I know all about Nadia, you fucktoy." She turned back to Near, who's head was bowed, then she turned her face back to Mello, her bored expression back again. "What else do you want to waste my time with? Really, I pity you for having nothing better to use on me."  
"I'm sure you know plenty about me by now, since you creep around Matt. Do you know Rod protected Yagami?" She continued to grin at the other woman, "he helped him get away with everything, all those murders and rapes."  
Near glanced to Matt, he looked ready to collapse, but continued to glare angrily to Mello. Near was shaking slightly, he noticed. Mello grinned, stroking the shotgun as she looked at them both.  
"So, how are we going to do this?"  
"This is insane, Mello."

Mello hissed and smacked him in the face with the gun, "I told you to shut up! I hate you, both of you!"  
Matt smirked, something he could use to get himself and Near free. "Alright then Mello, I guess I'll leave." He turned to leave and felt someone clasp his arm. He turned, hoping it was Near, clinging to him for protection. Instead, Mello was clasping onto him, her wide eyes looking pleadingly up at him, "Mattie wouldn't leave me, I need you and you know I do!" She wrapped her arms around him, embracing him tightly. "You wouldn't leave me, right?" She fluttered her eyelashes again.  
"Didn't you just say you hate me?" He stroked her face, even as he felt his skin crawl coming into willing contact with her. The cold metal of the gun touched his arm and made him shiver. "If you don't hate me, give me that gun, and we can do something else, okay? We can forget about this, and move on."  
Mello grinned, sticking her tongue out and touching it against his finger, and spoke as he fought the urge to pull away from her. "No. I like my idea, I want to go first but you have to promise you will too." She leant forward and kissed him, the gun pressed between them. He tried his best to return the kiss, but horror ran deep in his veins now. "Promise me?" She begged, pulling away.  
Near stepped forward again, blank as ever, "Matt doesn't have to-" Mello backhandedly slapped her across the face, turning her pale cheeks pink with the force, and Near collapsed backwards.  
He flinched, wanting more than anything to tend to Near, but knowing it would most likely get them both hurt more. "Alright, I promise to go after you Mel. Trust me." He gave her his signature smile, even though he was horrified. Mello grinned and kissed him again, before bowing her head to mutter a prayer. He stood next to her, observing her sullen, flushed face. "You know we don't have to do this, Mel."  
She turned her head back to him, her eyes now glinting psychotically. "No! We do, it's our destiny to be together, forever and everything will be perfect! You'll see, it'll be perfect," She smiled lovingly at him and closed her eyes, inserting the shotgun into her mouth. He immediately let himself collapse, clinging to Near's still body, his eyes glued to the scene in front of him. He could see Mello's eyes move under her eyelids; he wondered what was going through her mind, silently begged her to stop, knowing all the time she wouldn't.

**Warning: This gore scene is based off real life images of gun suicide; do not read if you're easily disturbed or nauseated.**

Then, like the full-stop at the end of a sentence, the gunshot rent the air with a near deafening sound and a proud certainty of destruction. In an explosion of gore, he and Near were sprayed with a thick mixture of blood, tissue, and various warm human remains too sickening to think much on. He swore he heard a shriek from Mello as the bullet ripped through her. The force of it had cracked her skull, leaving a bloodied mess where her face had been. Red stains darkened her light hair, as more of the blood spilled over the bone of her now permanently open jaw, left lax as the last strand of connective muscle stretched and split after the shock of the bullet. He pulled away from Near, retching and crying.  
"Oh god… Oh God... Holy fuck..." he forced out between spasms of vomiting. The contents of his stomach had collided with Mello's steadily leaking blood, pooling together to form a sickly orange colour Matt could only imagine bubbling from the mouth hell itself. Near had regained consciousness, her eyes wide and a hand pressed tightly over her mouth her other hand tugged at her hair so tightly the strands came out in her fingers. Mello had fallen back; the remains of her head met the wall, what was left of her once neatly fitted organs now draped onto the floor, tissue untangling from bone, a stark white beneath the red. The shining barrel of the gun lay still and silent amongst the stew of skin and organs, blood sliding mockingly off the metal while he and Near stood, the horror in their faces obscured in the spatter of blood and sticky debris.

**Graphic gore over. **

He grabbed Near as soon as he had finished throwing up, pulling her close to him. "Oh God, Near, I'm so sorry. Fuck.. I should have told you to stay at home." She hid her face in his neck, "You would be dead otherwise."  
She muttered, he wondered how she could stay monotonous after that experience. "I-I should keep my promise.."  
He glanced at the gun in the carnage. "I should-" He gestured to it, remembering his promise to Mello. He looked away from Near. "I'm sorry, Near. I really do love you, but," he sighed and tried to brush her off him. "Matt does realise Mello was inside, and now she is dead, she will have no idea if Matt follows her and keeps his promise or not."  
He closed his eyes, standing and stepping away from her. The stench of corpse had already started to fill the room. "I have to do as I promised, Near. She died for her and I to be together."  
Near stood also, as he bent, taking the gun from the corpse of his best friend, his stomach turning again as he did. He raised it to his mouth, shaking as he tried to find the trigger. He could almost taste Mello. "Matt,"  
There was more emotion in that one word than he'd ever heard from her collective speech since he'd known her. "N-Near…"  
Her voice faltered. "I-I'm-" She held out her hand for the gun. "Matt, please give it to me."  
He ignored her, his mouth felt stuck, dry as he tried to find the courage to insert it into his mouth. "I-I'm pregnant."  
He felt as though the world had stopped around him. Near moved closer, her small hands taking the gun from his hands, laying it on the bed and taking her mobile out of her pocket. She guided Matt to the bed as she dialled 999, and spoke quickly. She sat with him, one of her hands on her abdomen covered by his, the other in her hair as usual, twisting and pulling as ever. The last thing he remembered was Near gazing thoughtfully at Mello's corpse, then the shock overcame him, and he lost consciousness.


	8. Chapter 8

Here it is :D the last chapter of this story :3 please enjoy it as me and Misa have worked hard and enjoyed writing this story very much. Note from misa below :3

**(The lateness is, as usual, my fault. But hopefully this will be good enough to make up for it. Enjoy. –C-SC)**

So please read and review it so we know you like it :D =3 (we don't own deathnote x.x)

* * *

**Final chapter: **

Elsie Jeevas had many distinctive characteristics. Namely, her black eyes that looked too large for her very pale face, and her thick ruby hair, both exactly like the characteristics of her parents. Matt always thought she was a miracle, his saviour. After the death of his best friend, he had gotten extremely depressed, barely leaving his bed and did little when he did. Near- his sweet Near, had stayed with him though it. She'd moved into his house after some persuasion, forced him to get up every morning, to find a job at a gaming company and work hard for them both. After six months there, he'd started making decent money and they'd moved into an apartment in a good neighbourhood. A month later, their daughter had been born via caesarean section, and a year after that they were married. Roughly two years later, Near was caring for their daughter at home while he was working.

When he arrived him, he found Near sitting opposite her daughter, putting together a basic puzzle and singing softly to the child in a language he didn't understand. Elsie sat happily listening to her mother's singing and putting pieces into the puzzle clumsily. She seemed to be entirely focused on the puzzle until she heard the door close. She jumped up excitedly and turn to the door, "Daddy's home!" She cried out and ran to him. Matt smiled and scooped her up, embracing her tightly and stroking her hair. "Hey Elsie, did you have a good day?" She nodded and placed a wet kiss on his cheek loudly. He laughed and kissed her nose, then walked to where Near was still sat on the floor and sat beside her, cross-legged. "Hello darling," He gazed fondly down at her, smiling. "How was your day?"

Near leaned in against him and wrapped her arms around Elsie to cling to Matt's shirt "It's been relatively unexciting. We need more puzzles and a couple more packs of cards. We already ate dinner, but there are leftovers if you haven't eaten yet."

Reaching into his briefcase he dangled a puzzle box before her, "I saw this on the way home, I guess it was a good move to get it then, eh?" he smiled, stroking her snowy hair. Near took it from him almost excitedly "Oh… Thank you Matt." She smiled slightly to him. It was nice to see her smile; it had taken a while but she did it. Her first true smile was probably when Elsie was born. He began taking off his tie and let Elsie out of his arms to discover the puzzle her mother was now taking out of its box. He wandered off for a moment then returned with his dinner. Sitting at the coffee table, he sat and ate as they worked on the puzzle. Elsie was happy because it was a dinosaur puzzle, and as they made it, Near would ask which each was called and congratulated Elsie when she managed each one, her tongue tripping on particularly difficult ones. Matt grinned with pride at his wife and child.

Near twirled her hair and casually fixed parts of the puzzle, letting Elsie do most of it herself.

As the evening sun glinted through the window, it caught Elsie's hair, making it shine almost yellow for a moment. Matt tilted his head as the golden tint reminded him of Mello. 'Don't think of her,' He thinks. Matt hadn't thought of Mello properly in a long time. Not since her funeral.

He remembered Near sitting beside him, her hand in his as he stared at the closed coffin at the front of the church. Most of the attendants were from their school. The priest was speaking, but he couldn't take any of it in. Near had been his shining light after Mello's death. She had been there the whole time, making sure he ate and bathed and kept himself alive. Even as she struggled with her pregnancy and forcing him to work, months after Mello died, it was only after Elsie was born prematurely and Near was hospitalised that he started feeling better. Being left all alone with a tiny baby reminded him that Near and now their child needed him to be strong, and he began to feel better. He moved on from Mello's death, whenever it began to cross his mind, he would make himself busy and ignore those thoughts.

He shook his head and turned to face his family again with a soft smile on his lips. These two people were his life, and he'd do anything for them. Near was still ever blunt and usually cold, but he felt that she had changed even a little. She wore dresses more often, and her hair was most of the way down her back. He smiled every time Elsie got a piece of the puzzle right and beamed up at her mother, who would praise her with a smile and a kiss. Matt walked to the kitchen and washed his empty plate, stacking it with Elsie and Near's on the drying rack. He looked out of the window into the town and caught himself thinking of what life would be like had Near never entered his life. He knew he wouldn't have Elsie, he wouldn't have his dream job- Hell, he'd probably still be in that old flat. He sighed to himself, hating to think that perhaps Mello dying was the best thing for him. She was psychotic, manipulative and controlling. She could get Matt to do anything she wanted, and she knew that.

Just for a moment, he imagined Mello playing with a child of their own, Mello waiting at the door for him, nibbling at a chocolate bar and a child squirming in her arms. Mello holding him against her beautiful body, cuddling her in his arms- He shook his head to clear the thoughts. He felt a headache coming on and rubbed his temples. Mello would have been a wonderful loving, caring wife and mother, and their child would no doubt have inherited her beautiful hair and her bright eyes. "Mello…"

Elsie was quiet, like her mother, but as she noticed her father in the kitchen, frozen in thought. "Daddy?" She called out and walked towards him. Near looked up at her daughter and then got up to follow her, groaning slightly as she did. She stood next to him, stroking his hair and back. "It's her again, isn't it?"

He looked at her and paled, "N-Near?"

He sighed and nodded, "You know, it's the anniversary of her death soon." He muttered softly. He knew Near hated being held too tightly, but he needed to feel her against him, so he pulled her into his arms and crushes her against him. She lets him, awkwardly patting him as she attempts to console him. "I was just wondering," He paused and glanced out the window, "what would have happened if I'd made a different choice on that day- You know, after I was staying in the hospital. Maybe she'd still be alive now."

Matt glared out of the window, hating himself at that moment. She dragged him onto the sofa, sitting beside him. He felt Near's hand on his back, her small fingers lightly brushing over his shirt. "You cannot change the past, Matt, it's already over."

He smiled thankfully and took her other hand in his, kissing it lightly. "Thank you, my princess. There's just so much that I feel terrible for sometimes."

Matt glanced up at the clock, "Should I go run you a bath? Do you want Elsie to join you, or should I put her to bed while you take a bath?"

Near grips onto his hand, "Let's just stay here."

She presses her face into his chest, feeling his hand on the back of her head, buried into her hair. "Elsie?"

He smiled and wrapped his other arm around her loosely. Elsie looked up from her puzzle, then stood up and practically glided gracefully over to them. He lifted their child onto his knee, between them both, and held her tightly, Near also wrapped an arm around Elsie, curling her hand into their daughter's hair lovingly. It was amazing how well their life had turn out, Matt thought. He had his beautiful daughter and wife, what more could he want? He leaned down and kissed Elsie's head, noticing Near's sleepy expression. He yawned and leant back on the sofa, and she half-smiled to him sleepily. "Are you falling asleep there, Snow White?"

She kissed him suddenly which stunned him, but he returned her kiss and buried his hand into her hair. He realised Elsie had fallen asleep against Near's chest and parted from her, lifting Elsie into his arms and standing up. "I'll go put Elsie in bed, then I'll come to bed, okay?"

She nods and stands up as he begins carrying Elsie off to bed.

He took off the child's dress so that it wouldn't crease or discomfort her, then laid her in bed, tucked her in and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.

"I love you, my little miracle."

He whispered and flicked off the light.

He liked calling his and Near's room 'their' room. It'd taken her so long to get used to even living together, only after a major break down that lasted almost a week of her staying in his room and much begging from him afterwards convinced her to make it a permanent situation. He glanced around as he entered their room, and noticed Near sitting in a chair beside the window in one of his white baggy shirts that she kept for memory-sake more than anything. She was gazing out the window at the stars in the slowly darkening blue sky, one hand hovering, fingertips almost against the glass.

"Near?"

He walked over to her and gently rested a hand on her shoulder, "Near, love, are you alright?"

She turned to look up at him, her arms opening for him to hold her. "Matt-"

He sat with her, shifting their positions until she was on his lap, and held her tightly.

Near was limp against him, her eyes closed and one lip slipped between her teeth. "Are you happy with your decisions?"

She sounded more emotionless than she had in a while, twisting her hair through her fingers.

"Despite the guilt I feel, despite Mello's death, despite everything that's happened I am happy. I have you and Elsie, that's all I'll ever need to be happy. Are you happy?"

She'd never responded to that questions when he'd asked before. Hell, he didn't even think she'd ever said she loved him. Their wedding was a simple registration with a peck on the lips and their signatures on a piece of paper, even though he'd offered her anything she wanted.

She sighed and stroked her hand up his chest. "Matt…"

"What's wrong, angel?"

She shook her head and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He smiled contently, stroking her thigh gently as not to alarm her. "Near,"

She moves to straddle his legs, still cuddling his chest. He moves his hand to her back, stroking up and down lovingly. "What's wrong?"

Near looks up at him with wide eyes, "do you ever wish I was her?"

He froze, stunned, "Near, no. I never have, even when I wondered what it would be like if she was alive, if I was with her instead, but I never wished you were her, and you have always been my first choice."

She buries her head into Matt's chest again, whispering his name. "What's wrong, sweetheart? You know you can tell me anything."

Her only response is to bury her head further into him and press herself against him. He smiles and whispers that he loves her, kissing her once on the cheek, and then on the neck. She arched against him, a very soft whine coming from her closed mouth as she nuzzled into his neck.

"Do you want to-?"

She asked bluntly, though she blushed slightly. He blushed also, thinking of the few times they'd had sexual contact since their first time, consisting of few awkward sessions of him grinding against her clothed body while she squirmed uncomfortably, and a few times of her rubbing her hand against his covered crotch until she felt him tense and moan against her.

"Let's go lie down."

He lifts her up easily, carrying her to bed and laying her down.

As soon as he lies beside her, she turns to lay on him and presses down against him, her fingers running through his hair. "Let's make new memories together."

She looked down at him, her hair falling over both of them and creating a curtain between them and the dimly lit room. He gazed up at her, thinking how beautiful she looks and how lucky he is to have her, "Yes, lets."

He smiles and strokes her back softly.

Her hands unsteadily, nervously, unbutton his shirt, and he moves his hand to stroke her hair. "You're safe, Near, don't be afraid."

He kisses her deeply, used to her unresponsiveness by now, and strokes his other hand over her legs. He kisses her neck, nibbling at her softly afterwards. After pulling off his dark work shirt, she begins on her own, quickly revealing her bare torso and white cotton underwear. She sits to slide it off and he eagerly watches her. "You're so beautiful."

He whispers, making her blush lightly again. "Matt may do what he wants with me."

She looks away, avoiding catching his eye.

He remembered that she was like this the first time, and it made him smile. "What do you want me to do, Near?"

He kissed her again softly, and let his hands caress her body.

She closes her eyes and stiffly leaned into his touch. "D-Did you put Elsie to bed?"

He nods, letting his hands travel down further, "She's all tucked in and fast asleep."

He whispered, kissing her breasts and gently flicking her nipple with his tongue.

She whines softly again, automatically flinching away from him. He looks up at her, into her dark eyes.

"I love you, Near. Please let me show you?"

She frowns for a moment, her eyes closing and her hands clenching softly. She takes a deep breath and clears her expression. "Matt may do what he likes."

He looks at her, confused, but lets it go and kisses her passionately. She responds, and he wraps his arms around her body holding her as if she will disappear if he doesn't.

He runs his hands down her back, sliding off her underwear once he gets to her hips, stroking his hands over her as he does. He spreads her legs gently, pressing his hips up against hers. She's unresponsive, but he carries on doing his best to please her, stroking her body and kissing her lips and neck. She occasionally moves into his touch, or responds to his kisses, but remains mostly still. After a few minutes, she moves her hands to remove his trousers and underwear, and he took this as a sign to continue. He grinded against her a little more, rubbing at her breasts and nibbling and sucking her neck, until she moaned softly, then slowly lifted her hips, placing her down onto his cock slowly, letting her take control once she wanted to. She was slower than he'd like, but he was more than happy to accept that, and held her close. After a while, he decided to try to turn her over so that he would be over her, and she let him. He soon sped up slightly, trying to keep his thrusts soft into her with his rising excitement. She moaned softly as he fucked her, slowly losing control of his speed. It had been so long since he'd had her this way, and it felt so amazing to be inside her again. He came sooner than he'd have liked to, but she moaned contentedly when he did, kissing him softly. "Oh, god, Near-"

She squeaked softly when he quickly pulled out of her and came between her thighs, Near shook, but laid still, clinging **onto** him tightly. "Matt,"

He sat up sleepily, moving himself off her and grabbing some wet-wipes. He passed them to her, and she thanked him, cleaning herself up. "Was that okay?"

He nodded happily, disposing of the wipes once she was done. "Thank you, my love."

He laid down beside her, and held her in his arms, quickly falling asleep listening to her soft breathing and feeling her in his arms.

Once she was sure he was asleep, she wriggled out of his arms, and grabbed her shirt and underwear off the floor, quickly dressing in them. She shivered as she exited the room and went to check on Elsie, finding her fast asleep in her bed. Near curled up beside her for a few moments; nuzzling her face into her daughter's hair lovingly and holding the child to her.

Afterwards, she returned to her room, lying back down in bed beside Matt.

She sighed as she gazed down at him sleeping, thinking how much her life had changed. She knew Matt still dwelled on the past too much, and she wished she could change that for him, and make him fully happy again. After spending so long together, and even enjoying her life, perhaps this was what love was, she wondered. Perhaps the very fact that she would look forward to Matt arriving home, to being in his arms at night, and to their family time at the weekends meant that she did love him. She smiled and pressed her lips into his hair, just above his ear. 'Thank you, Matt; you've finally made me happy.'

**End**


End file.
